Press Statement
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Muhammadu Buhari
should leave the 8th National Assembly out of his failures to tame his
fraudulent officials and curb the humongous corruption festering in his
Presidency.
The party said the Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee on
Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, at his age and status, ought to be bold
enough to tell President Buhari that corruption resides in the
Presidential Villa and that a President who surrounds himself with
corrupt persons as ministers, special advisers and confidants cannot
fight corruption.
The PDP tasks Prof. Sagay to clear his conscience by using his position
to ask President Buhari to answer Nigerians on the alleged siphoning of
N9 trillion oil money through shady contracts, under his watch, as
detailed in the leaked NNPC memo.
The party further advised that Prof. Sagay could take a face-saving
measure by demanding an investigation into the alleged corruption in the
handling of the N1.4 trillion oil subsidy involving the cabal in the
Presidency and certain All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, in
addition to the reported stealing of over N1.1 trillion worth of crude
under Mr. President’s watch.
It is strange to many Nigerians that Prof. Sagay, as the Chairman of the
anti-corruption committee, could not summon the boldness to ask
President Buhari to order an investigation into allegations by the First
Lady, Aisha Buhari, that the N500bn meant for Social Investment Program
was diverted to private purses.
Furthermore, Prof. Sagay and President Buhari had been mute over the
recent arrest of President Buhari’s confidant, Nasir Banu in the United
Kingdom for alleged passport scam and money laundering, while allegedly
ferrying stolen money to persons said to be close to the Buhari
Presidency.
Also, Prof. Sagay is yet to speak out on the recent arrest of a scammer,
Abdulrauf Illyasu, who operates from within the Presidential Villa, and
never said anything about the arrest of former aide to the First Lady as
well as one Amina Mohammed, who openly confessed fronting for persons
close to the President for serial fraud, contract scams and looting of
public resources.
These and many more are corruption issues, which fall directly on the
shoulders of the Buhari Presidency for which Nigerians expected Prof.
Sagay and his committee to address.
Prof. Sagay should therefore leave the former President of the Senate,
Senator Bukola Saraki and then House of Representatives Speaker, Hon
Yakubu Dogara, alone and accept the fact that the Buhari Presidency
cannot fight corruption because it swims in ocean of corruption.
If anything, Nigerians are still aware of how the 8th National Assembly
exposed corruption in the Buhari administration including issues of
budget padding, alleged diversion of funds meant for the Internally
Displaced Persons and stealing in revenue generating agencies.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
