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Buhari Presidency’s Resort To Lies Against Atiku, A Sign Of Defeat
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has noted several comments and
personal attacks by the Minister of Information and National
Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as well as other officials of the
Buhari Presidency, who have been making deliberate efforts impugn on the
character of our Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Since the successful conduct of our Presidential primary and the popular
emergence of Atiku Abubakar, the Buhari Presidency and the All
Progressives Congress (APC) have become intimidated; gone into panic
mode and ignobly resorted to trading on rumour and spurious allegations,
having failed in their evil machination to scuttle our Presidential
primary ab initio.
The PDP is aware of how the unnerved and intimidated Buhari Presidency
has unleashed its officials, spin doctors and hack writers with billions
of naira, siphoned from our national treasury, to fabricate lies,
spurious allegations and smear campaign against our Presidential
candidate.
While it is understandable that President Muhammadu Buhari is
discomfited and afraid to face a popular candidate in any elections due
to his incompetence, for which Nigerians earnestly seek his replacement,
engaging in smear campaign, as a means of survival, is completely
reprehensible and cowardly.
President Buhari and the APC, in their desperation, should not attempt
to confuse personal economic prosperity that comes from hardwork, as in
the case of Atiku Abubakar, with corrupt enrichment. That President
Buhari failed in leading a successful personal economic life does not
mean that others cannot succeed without being corrupt.
Furthermore, unlike President Buhari, who has failed in managing both
private and public enterprises; who also confessed his failure to
successfully manage his own farm and has made no personal contribution
to our national development, our Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar,
is internationally known as a hard working, resourceful, versatile and
successful private entrepreneur, a vast employer of labour; an ingenious
citizen, who has made immeasurable contribution to our national
development both in public and private lives.
It is therefore a heinous perversion for Lai Mohammed, who has earned
himself a notoriety, to the extent Nigerians now replace his first name,
‘Lai’ with ‘lie’, to attempt to suggest that the choice of Atiku
Abubakar is a return to era of corruption, whereas President Buhari is
internationally reputed to be presiding over the most corrupt
administration in the history of our nation.
Lai Mohammed fails to note that Nigerians are aware that, while our
candidate, Atiku Abubakar has never been indicted for corruption or
facing any corruption charge, President Buhari is now overburdened by
indictments and allegations of humongous corruption, for which he has
failed to provide explanations.
Since Lai Mohammed is talking about era of corruption, we charge him to
speak up on the leaked memo detailing the stealing of N9 trillion
($25billion dollars) through underhand oil contract at the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Ministry of Petroleum,
under President Buhari’s direct supervision.
Lai Mohammed should speak up on the alleged siphoning of N1.4 trillion
through sleazy oil subsidy regimes and those benefitting from the
alleged N58 hidden tax per liter which Nigerians have continued to bear
since the fuel price increase from N87 to presumably unsubsidized cost
of N145.
Lai Mohammed should speak up on why the Buhari Presidency is suppressing
investigation into alleged use of 18 unregistered companies to lift and
divert N1.1 trillion worth of crude oil in 2017 and the President’s
alleged link with the beneficiaries of this fraud.
Can Lai Mohammed tell Nigerians how the Buhari era allegedly presided
over the stealing of over N18 billion from the funds approved for
rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and rebuilding of
six northeast states ravaged by insurgency?
Can Lai Mohammed tell Nigerians how over N25 billion meant for health
needs of Nigerians was stolen by the Presidency cabal from the National
Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and how the same cabal siphoned the $322
million repatriated by Switzerland, under the guise of sharing the funds
to the poor?
It is only in an administration like the Buhari Presidency that thrives
in lies and deception that characters like Lai Mohammed, with his
proclivities, can be minister.
This is the same person, who nearly caused a national crisis when he, in
May 2015, accused former President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP of
frustrating the activities of then Transition Committee only for the
head of the APC team, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, to declare that that the team
had all the cooperation from the PDP.
This is the same Lai Mohammed, who, in 2014, alleged that the PDP denied
a plane carrying a state governor from landing in Ado Ekiti to attend
the APC Governorship election rally in the state only for the State
Government to debunk the lie stating that the governor did not travel to
Ekiti but was attending official functions in the state.
This is the same minister that has not been able to explain the
circumstances surrounding his attempt to obtain over N13 million from
the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) under the mask of a “loan”,
against budgetary approvals and principles of the Treasury Single
Account (TSA).
In as much as the PDP remains committed to issue-based campaign ahead of
2019 elections, we will not by any means tolerate further lies and
fabrications from the Buhari Presidency, particularly from agents who
have no ethical substance to make allegations against any Nigerian.
On a final note, the PDP counsels the Buhari Presidency and the APC to
shed their resort to lies, falsehood and smear campaign and get prepared
to face an inevitable crushing defeat, come 2019.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
