· PDP Unfit To Criticize President Buhari Government On Corruption Fight – APC
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken-on the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the controversial suspension of the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that, the PDP had earlier demanded the removal of Minister of Transportation; Mr Rotimi Amaechi, as well as the suspended Managing Director of the Nigeria NPA over alleged unremitted funds.
President Buhari had last week suspended Ms Usman following the advice of Mr Amaechi who’s accused the NPA under Ms Usman of not remitting enough money to the federation account.
The PDP however faulted Mr Amaechi suggestion, describing it as a ploy to cover up the scandal.
President Buhari has also ordered a probe and asked Ms Usman to step aside while the probe continues. She however denies any wrongdoing.
But, PDP’s spokesperson; Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement insisted that both “the minister and the indicted NPA Managing Director should be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and possible prosecution.”
“The party also asks the transport minister to come clean on his reported connection in the alleged involvement of his wife, Mrs. Edith Amaechi, in the exposed N48 billion contract scam currently rocking the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),” the PDP said.
“This is in addition to reports from the office of Auditor General which also unearthed the looting of unremitted deduction to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to N3,667,750,470. $148,845,745.04, Euro 4,891,449.50 and £252,682.14 under the suspended NPA Managing Director and Amaechi’s ministerial supervision.
“The audit report also exposed another N15.18 billion allegedly siphoned through shady Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects by the NPA, an agency under Amaechi’s ministerial purview.”
But, in a swift response to the demand, the APC on Tuesday said that, the PDP is unfit to criticize President Buhari’s government on corruption fight.
In a statement signed by APC’s National Secretary, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe described the suspension of Usman to be in connection with the routine administrative inquiry approved by President, Muhammadu Buhari into the activities of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
According to the APC, the PDP statement calling for the sack of Amaechi and Usman “nonsensical”.
The statement read in part: “We also note the shameful attempt by the PDP to libellously drag the spouse of Amaechi (who has never held public office and is not a politician) into the realm of politics, and libellously malign her with their fictional tale of looting the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Apparently, the PDP is still living in their alternate reality in which corruption, aided by their family members and cronies was approved statecraft. For the PDP that looted everything in sight during the 16 years it held this country to ransom, it is understandable that it is still unable to understand a routine administrative probe”.
It added that, “while inaugurating the panel on Monday to probe the activities of the NPA, the Transportation minister was abundantly clear that no one has been indicted of anything. And the probe is in line with the routine discharge of the duties and functions of the Ministry of Transportation’s supervisory mandate over the NPA.
The fact that the APC-led government of President Buhari approved the probe of the NPA is a clear testimony of the President’s belief in transparency, good governance and adherence to the rules in public service. It further reinforces President Buhari’s zero tolerance for corruption in his administration”.
It is an irony that the PDP whose public officers’ family members and cronies collectively looted our country with many charged to court for financial crimes and money laundering offences, would based on fiction, slander the spouse of an APC public official. While we do not intend to go low as the PDP, we want to remind them that Nigerians still remember vividly the billions of Naira, millions of dollars of stolen state funds that were either recovered or confiscated from immediate-past PDP public officials, their family members and cronies”.
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