The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) to “come clean on revelations, in the public space, that the N40 billion taxpayers’ money allegedly siphoned from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was used to finance its 2019 campaigns.”
The party said the revelation has not only unsettled certain
persons in the Buhari Presidency, but also further exposed the “APC as a
decadent lot; a gathering of treasury looters who thrive in cheating,
deceit and pretences at very high levels.”
The opposition party further claimed that the development has further vindicated its stand that the “APC is an extremely callous and hypocritical party, which has no iota of conscience but takes delight in depriving our citizens and pillaging resources meant for the well-being of our people.”
A statement by the national publicity secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, which was sent to TheNiche said, “It is shameful that instead of being remorseful, agents of the APC are reportedly engaging in dirty infighting over how the money was “shared,” with certain top leaders of the APC allegedly getting up to N3 billion each.
The PDP cautioned the APC not to take Nigerians for a ride with
“diversionary empty denials, finger pointing, hauling of insults and
spurious accusations against the PDP, as the public already has reports
of how very top leaders of the APC, including those operating at the
Presidency, were used to conduit the money from the FIRS.”
The statement reads in part:
“The PDP holds that in a nation battling the scourge of corruption,
misrule, huge unemployment, unprecedented infrastructural decay,
insecurity, hunger and untold hardship, such a humongous allegation must
not be allowed to go under the usual APC carpet
“Our party submits that since the APC has been overtly indicted, it
should come clean by refunding the N40 billion to the public coffers
from where it should be channeled to job creation projects without
further delay.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the APC and its Federal Government
have failed to account for various pillaging of public funds under the
Buhari administration, including the N14 trillion stolen through various
phony contracts in the NNPC as well as direct drawings from other
government agencies such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
“The PDP notes that if the trillions of naira stolen and stashed away in
private purses of APC leaders are recovered and directed to development
projects, our nation will not be in its present sorry state under the
Buhari administration.”