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Prosecute Amaechi, Oshiomhole, PDP Tells Buhari …Insists 2019 Polls, Choice Between Progress, Retrogression
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to prosecute the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, APC Campaign Director-General, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and other directors and zonal coordinators, that have corruption charges, noting that he (Buhari) should not only prosecute the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal and former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke.
It would be recalled that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had in an event held in his honour by Christian youths, under the aegis of Ikeja branch of GRILL, said that Lawal and Oke were recommended for prosecution by the committee he heads.
Lawal was sacked after a Senate committee indicted him on misappropriating funds meant for internally displaced persons (IDPs), in the north-east but denied any wrongdoing.
The former NIA Director-General was also removed from office, following the discovery of $43 million at an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.
In view of the above therefore, Osinbajo averred, “I think the first thing for us is that the report was acted upon; the former SGF was dismissed. Second, the President has directed that the SGF and former DG of NIA be prosecuted.
“So, we are expecting that prosecution will take place. The next, of course, is that criminal allegations will be filed against them and the prosecution process will be completed.”
However, in a statement disclosed by Director, Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, the party opined that singling out Babachir Lawal and Ayodele Oke, for prosecution, while providing official cover to numerous other indicted APC leaders and persons close to him, President Buhari has further confirmed that he is indeed partisan and insincere in prosecuting the anti-corruption fight.
“Moreover, the fact that, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Mr. President had to give his nod before Babachir and Oke could be prosecuted, also goes to further confirm that President Buhari has annexed the system and directly determines who is prosecuted and who is spared.
“The PDP, therefore, challenges President Buhari to immediately order the prosecution of all APC leaders, particularly members of his Presidential Campaign Council, beginning with the APC factional National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, the campaign Director-General, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, other directors and zonal coordinators, who have allegations of corruption hanging on their necks.
“Mr. President should also immediately order the prosecution of the former aide to the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, Mr. Baba Inna, who was arrested in September, last year, over accusations of receiving N2.5billion from politicians, businessmen and women on behalf of the First Lady.
“In the same vein, he should also order the prosecution of Mrs. Amina Mohammed, who while being paraded by the Department of State Services (DSS), last year stated in public that persons close to President Buhari were involved in serial fraud and looting of public resources under the official cover of the Buhari Presidency.
“President Buhari should also order an open inquest into alleged involvement of some individuals said to be close to the Buhari Presidency in the N1.032trillion alleged corrupt acquisitions in 9Mobile and Keystone Bank PLC.
“He is also invited to order an investigation into allegations that persons close to him and serving in his Presidency took N500million as bribe to reduce the fine imposed on a telecommunication company operating in the country, from N1.03trillion to N330billion.
“Furthermore, we challenge President Buhari to allow an inquest into the N14trillion looted oil money under his watch, as detailed in the NNPC leaked memo; the handling of the repatriated $322million that has been siphoned under the guise of sharing to the poor; the N33billion Internally Displace Persons (IDP) intervention fund and the billions of naira already frittered through the ‘Tradermoni scheme’. Until Mr. President musters the required political will to carry out these actions, his war against corruption remains a charade,” the PDP added.
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tasked eligible voters to take advantage of the 2019 election to put the country on the path of sustainable progress by voting its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The party said by constantly engaging Nigerians across the world without resorting to the use of proxies, Atiku has demonstrated his readiness to face the challenges of governance, urging voters not to mortgage their future listening to the same propaganda that “has brought our beloved nation to her knees in the last three and a half years.”
Speaking exclusively with our correspondent, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Atiku’s physical and mental fitness were glaring for the world to see when “after hours of flying into the country from the United States of America, he did not complain of jet lag but made himself available to debate with President Muhammadu Buhari last week.”
While urging Nigerians to support enmasse the candidacy of the former Vice President, Ologbondiyan said the PDP candidate has made a success of his venture in public and private sectors, adding that his sole motivation for the highest elective office is to deliver service to Nigerians without discrimination on the basis of creed, tribe or religion.
“We say it is a choice between progress and retrogression; between competence and incompetence. The policy document of our candidate which is in public domain is clearly on how the administration of our incoming President will reposition this country, how the states will be empowered to be more productive and less dependent on federal allocation while not forgetting the massive incentives for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
“So, when the All Progressives Congress (APC), ask for your votes, ask them what happened to the three million jobs they promised annually. Ask their Presidential candidate who said subsidy payment was a fraud why he is now paying subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Please, ask them why after deceiving a good number of Nigerians that they will restructure the country, they suddenly developed cold feet on assumption of office,” he said.
On the readiness of the PDP to play by the rules, Ologbondiyan in a veiled dig at President Buhari argued that the failure to sign the 2018 Electoral Act Amendment Bill is an opportunity missed for technology to take a firm root in the nation’s electoral process.
“When you hear that card readers have been upgraded, it gives you a sense of fulfillment that the process is getting better but then; why was the electoral act not signed? That was an opportunity missed because if virtually everything under the sun is going digital, we can’t afford to lag too far behind other democracies in the world.
“But we counsel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to walk its talk by ensuring that card readers for the polls work optimally across the country during the elections. This time, excuses that card readers functioned in some parts and failed in others will not be acceptable to Nigerians. We don’t deserve another four years in the dark and we can’t certainly afford a fresh tenure of pain, anguish and hunger,” he added.
He called on Nigerians to make the most of the opportunity presented them by the general election by electing people with proven competence and understanding of the workings of constitutional democracy.
