The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday said the monstrous
sleaze being revealed in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC,
is just a tip of the iceberg on the stinking corruption and criminal
racketeering in the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration led
by President Muhammadu Buhari.
PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said the
shocking details of the allegation by the former NDDC Managing Director,
Joy Nunieh, of massive stealing, manipulation of budget processes,
victimization and implication of innocent Nigerians as well as fetish
practices by corrupt officials, allegedly spearheaded by the supervising
Minister, Godswill Akpabio, have further exposed how ministries,
agencies and departments, MDAs, are run under the Buhari-led APC
administration.
A statement signed by Ologbondiyan said the “silence and inaction by
the Buhari Presidency and the APC since the uncovering of the fraud in
the NDDC signposts complicity at the highest levels as well as validates
the public stance that treasury looting and cover-up for corrupt
persons are normal official statecraft and manifesto of the APC and the
Buhari administration.”
He
added: “Nigerians are still in a state of shock over reports of how the
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Akpabio, allegedly bullied officials
to pillage the Commission’s foreign currency account; how the laid down
procedures of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) are allegedly
circumvented to siphon unapproved budgets as well as how innocent
workers and federal legislators, who are averse to corrupt practices,
were victimized, implicated and even harassed with fetish practices.
“The allegation by the former NDDC MD that a certain NDDC top notch
said he can kill if Senator Akpabio asks him to do so, shows the level
of recklessness and the victimization in MDAs under the APC rule.
“More distressing is that the Buhari Presidency and the APC had
remained silent even when the embattled minister has not provided any
concrete defence to the allegations beyond personal attacks on the
whistleblowers.
“Nigerians will recall that our party had in April, alerted of
massive looting in the NDDC and called for an investigation, which was,
however, not addressed by the government.
“Our
party had also alerted that the NDDC management has not been able to
give a cogent explanation to the reported Lassa fever contract fraud
through which over N4 billion naira NDDC fund was alleged to have been
frittered on hazy procurement deals.”
Recall that the sacked Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, Nunieh had accused Akpabio of fraudulent practices.
Reacting, Akpabio claimed that the former NDDC boss had a character problem.
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