PDP mess must be cleared for Nigerians to enjoy better life ----APC
(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, has listed new
instances of the insane looting of the treasury by some officials of the Goodluck
Jonathan administration, saying that the corruption mess that characterized the
administration was so pervasive that until it is cleaned, Nigeria will not be
able to actualize its potentials.
APC in a statement in Abuja on Sunday by its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said “Those who would rather give
comfort to the looters by dismissing the media exposure of looting cases as
mere hell-raising should realize that no sane person can be silent in the face
of what is unfolding as the worst cases of brazen stealing of public funds in
Nigeria's history.
''On August 16, 2015, we listed some instances of the
breath-taking looting of the treasury by some officials of the immediate past
Administration. Today, we bring three more heart-rendering cases to the
attention of Nigerians. We will not relent until closure has been brought to
this issue,'' it said, listing the new cases as: - A mind-shattering $2.2
billion arms scandal.
- A $6.9 m fraud by the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President
Jonathan, committed under the guise of buying three mobile stages for the
President. - A N2.5 billion scam involving the rent of house boats.
''While those charged with handling these cases are finalizing the details of bringing the suspects to justice, our immediate concern is the attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under whose umbrella the looting took place, to blame the Buhari administration for the mess and then infer that things have been worse in Nigeria in the past three months under the APC-led federal government than in the 16 years under the PDP. This is totally provocative, shameless and uncharitable.
''While those charged with handling these cases are finalizing the details of bringing the suspects to justice, our immediate concern is the attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under whose umbrella the looting took place, to blame the Buhari administration for the mess and then infer that things have been worse in Nigeria in the past three months under the APC-led federal government than in the 16 years under the PDP. This is totally provocative, shameless and uncharitable.
''They say we are yet to fulfil our campaign promises to
Nigeria, but they have forgotten that if only the PDP/Jonathan Administration
had not stolen Nigeria blind, there would have been more than enough money to
give school children in Nigeria not just one but three meals a day and even pay
N5,000 to 50 million most vulnerable Nigerians, not just the 25 million we
promised in our manifesto,'' APC said.
Despite the almost daily discovery of cases of corruption
under the Jonathan administration, the party assured Nigerians of better days
ahead, as all its campaign promises will be kept because of the commitment and
determination of President Muhammadu Buhari not only to cleaning the Augean
Stable but also ensuring purposeful governance for the benefit of all
Nigerians.
''It is clear to all Nigerians that the debilitating impact
of 16 years of PDP's misrule cannot be reversed in just three months. It is an
obvious truth that it is always easier to destroy than to construct, but
nothing will stand in the way of the Buhari Administration's commitment to
improving the quality of life of Nigerians and making our country to function
again,'' it said.
It said that a major cog in the wheel of faster progress for
the new Nigeria under President Buhari has been the discovery that the pot
housing the commonwealth has been licked dry by the looters of yesterday, hence
the need to work meticulously to recover the looted funds and facilitate the
delivery of good governance that will manifest in abundant jobs, strong economy
and improved welfare and security for Nigerians.
APC said while the PDP, ever steeped in the pursuit of lies,
presents the recently released data on job creation and economic growth as
'clear signals' that President Buhari is failing Nigerians, the disgraced party
mischievously omitted the fact that those numbers are basically a manifestation
of the disastrous final days of President Jonathan’s failed economic policies.
''The PDP omitted the fact that these numbers measure job
creation and economic growth for the second quarter of 2015, which covers April
to June 2015, a period in which President Jonathan was in office for two months
while President Buhari was only just settling in to discover even more of the
mess left for him to clear. No one in his or her right mind will hold someone
more accountable for actions in just one month and exonerate another who was in
the same office for two months.
''Since the PDP has become insular to global events, the APC
will also like to educate the party that every country in the world is
struggling to adjust to the effects of a global downturn at the moment. Only
very few countries, if any, are growing as fast as they did, in say two years
ago. From China, India, Russia, South Africa, to Ghana, Malaysia and Brazil,
every country is feeling the effects of a sustained slowdown in global growth.
''The APC will also like to categorically say that it
supports the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN in its quest to
ensure greater transparency in the Forex market and eliminate currency
substitution in our economy. The CBN’s policy to stop cash deposits of foreign
currency is in line with global best practices and has led to a drastic
reduction in the BDC exchange rate for the Dollar, the party said.
It commended Nigerians for showing absolute understanding
and faith in the leadership of President Buhari to change the way that Nigeria
has been misruled in the last 16 years, and assured that, in the days ahead,
the painstaking efforts of the President will manifest even more than Nigerians
have already witnessed.
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