The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the revelation of furtive
depletion and siphoning of $1.68 billion from the Excess Crude Account
(ECA), further shows that President Muhammadu Buhari presides over a
corrupt government that is bent on draining our treasury and foisting
more suffering on our people.
The party in a statement signed by the national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan “accuses President Buhari of superintending over the
surreptitious withdrawals from the ECA, without recourse to the
statutory appropriation of the National Assembly, because funds are
being frittered from the account to private purses of the cabal at his
Presidency and corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders.”
The statement added: “The party describes the excuses being peddled by the Buhari administration on the depletion as hazy, muddle-up and cannot find basis under the due process of statutory legislative approvals.
“The PDP wonders why Mr. President is presiding over such impunity, if he
is not drawing personal benefits from the obvious racket for which our
ECA has been turned into APC’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
“Apparently realizing that they have been rejected by Nigerians ahead of
the 2019 general elections, the APC and the Buhari Presidency now want
to drain our treasury and as usual, blame it on past administration.
“Nigerians can recall that the PDP, which established the ECA as a buffer
account to cushion the effect of any economic down turn, left $2.07
billion in the account only for the Buhari administration to drain it
down to $631 million.
“The PDP condemns this manifest impunity by the Buhari Presidency and
demands that no more withdrawals must be made from the account by this
corrupt and inept administration.
“Finally, our party urges Nigerians to unite in condemnation of the
depletion of our ECA by the Buhari administration, which has less than
five months to leave the governance of our country for good.”