The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has restated that the discharge and acquittal of the former Governor of Adamawa State, Hon. James Bala Ngilari by the Appeal Court in Yola, last Wednesday, was a clear vindication of the position of the party that the former governor’s prosecution was politically-motivated.
A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, last weekend, explained that, “this development has once again, affirmed our earlier position that the anti-corruption war of this failed administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a vendetta targeted at former PDP leaders and members and other perceived enemies of the government.”
He claimed that, “Ngilari is one amongst many other innocent PDP members and other Nigerians that were wrongly accused of corruption by the APC government that have been vindicated in recent times.”
According to him, “These innocent men and women have been harassed, intimidated and subjected to harrowing legal prosecution simply to score cheap political points and cow the opposition into silence.
“Nigerians will recall the case of the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the PDP agent in the 2015 Presidential Elections, Elder Godsday Orubebe, who was wrongly accused of fraud to the tune of N1.97billion. He was later discharged and acquitted by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the FCT High Court on April 4, 2017.
“Nigerians may also recall the Gestapo and commando-style arrest and detention of some Justices of the Supreme Court by the Department of State Security (DSS) on account of various allegations of bribery and corruption. Some of these judges ‘till date have not been charged to court for the alleged offences while Justice Ademola, his wife and Barrister Joe Agi, SAN, were all discharged and acquitted by another FCT High Court on April 5, 2017,” Adeyeye emphasised.
The statement further noted that, “Nigerians and members of the international community are still waiting for the report of the Presidential Committee headed by the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo investigating the PINE allegation involving the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal and the huge cash recovered at a residencial complex on Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.”
The PDP recalled that, “The committee was set-up on April 19, 2017, to submit its report within 14 days,” but retorted that, “Maybe, it will be submitted tomorrow.
“It is clear that the APC-led administration is hell-bent on hounding and grounding opposition by intimidating perceived enemies to cover up for its failures and maladministration. Indeed, the ‘APC anti-corruption war’ is a disaster and the government itself is a complete failure: clueless, visionless and directionless,” Adeyeye stressed.
The party, therefore, congratulated the former governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngilari, for his victory at the Appeal Court, and urged “him and all teeming members and supporters nationwide to remain steadfast with the PDP as it works to salvage the country from the clutches of the APC marauders.”