By Valentine Amanze
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has no moral rectitude to fight corruption being a direct beneficiary of the corruption freebies deployed by his party leaders to fund his 2015 presidential campaign, says Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party argued that the president, who declared that he had no resources to run a presidential campaign in 2015, ought to have known, particularly as a leader, that the billions of naira deployed for his campaigns were proceeds of corrupt activities of known All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and leaders.
The party further challenged Buhari to make open the sources of fund available to his campaign in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 race as well as the names of the donors.
The PDP said that it was particularly interested in the fund allegedly provided by a South-south governor for the 2011 presidential election as well as how the cost of litigation was paid by then Buhari Campaign.
The PDP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Saturday, said that the APC and the Federal Government could list names of looters and attempt to shy away from the fact that President Buhari and his party were direct beneficiaries of fund looted by APC governors.
The party said that President Buhari and his party leaders had huge confessions to make on how they raked in state stolen resources to prosecute elections of 2015.
“If the Federal Government and the APC are serious about fighting corruption and not just out to persecute PDP members, they should have began with the probe into the source of the billions of naira used for President Buhari’s 2015 presidential campaigns, particularly in the face of allegations that the fund was looted from treasuries of various APC states.
“Can President Buhari in all honesty claim ignorance of reports in the open media that a South-south governor looted several billions from his state accounts and diverted the sums into Buhari’s 2015 campaigns?
“Can the Presidency and the APC inform Nigerians what steps the Federal Government has taken to investigate this allegation, which has been in public domain and to clarify their roles as beneficiaries of the alleged looted funds? If they are not complicit, why are they not demanding the truth in the matter and the possible refund of the fund for the good of the people?”
PDP also advised President Buhari to tell Nigerians what he has done
On the leaked memo showing N9 trillion ($25 billion) corrupt oil contracts at the NNPC as well as the alleged stealing of N1.1 trillion worth of crude oil, all in a sector under his direct purview as minister of Petroleum.
“The Presidency should tell Nigerians what has been done to recover the stolen N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) intervention fund and the N10 billion National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) fund alleged to have been stolen from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by APC officials and Presidency cabal.
“Furthermore, the Buhari Presidency must immediately explain why it has been providing cover for the cabinet minister reported to have bought a property worth N280 million in Abuja from corrupt enrichment.
“How can a President who enjoys the company of perjurer, looters and is never aware of the activities of corrupt people around him, fight the menace of corruption?
“Indeed, Nigerians have pulled off the facade of lies and propaganda of the Buhari Presidency and APC deception machinery and what they see now is the stark pretentiously sanctimonious Buhari Presidency,” the party said.