Desist from politics, PDP tells NIA

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday charged the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, and other security agencies in the nation to desist from partisan politics.

Reacting to the controversy surrounding the over $43 million found in a house in Ikoyi, Lagos, the party faulted the reported claim of the NIA that it owned the huge amount in various denominations.

The party said in a statement by Prince Dayo Adeyeye, National Publicity Secretary, in Abuja yesterday: “The latest drama in town is the circus show of the discovery of huge sums of money of various currencies and denominations on daily basis without any trace of the owners .

"The most absurd of this charade is the macabre dance on the so called $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 purportedly recovered at an apartment in Osborne Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.

“The government is at crossroads as the Whistle-blower and the EFCC are now shying away from telling Nigerians who owned the monies because undeniable evidence links the monies to the proceeds from the sale of turbines by the former governor of Rivers State and now Minister of Transport, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi.

"It has also been revealed that part of that proceeds was used by Mr. Amaechi to prosecute the campaigns of the APC in 2015.

“The claim by the Director-General of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, NIA, that the agency owns the stolen money “found” in a private residence is another bad comedy by this failed APC Administration.

Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi at the weekend denied ownership of the money.

We are, therefore, warning all agencies of government in the country to excuse itself from partisan politics to forestall individuals in government manipulating their operations, especially, a sensitive agency like the NIA and thereby leading the Nation into a Gestapo State that it’s fast drifting into.’’

The PDP faulted the claim of President Muhammadu Buhari in his Easter message, that he had worked hard to meet the expectations of Nigerians in the last two years.

The opposition party said the present administration had made living more difficult for Nigerians, as the economy had worsen from a single digit inflation rate to the current 17. 26 per cent. The party said: “We read with rude shock and utter dismay, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Easter Message to Nigerians and of particular interest is the Paragraph that said.

“In the almost two years of this administration, we have worked hard to meet the expectations of Nigerians by improving security, especially in the North-East, sustaining the campaign against corruption and have taken steps to revitalize the economy”.

Really? “These comments from Mr. President are to say the least untrue and an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians who have been at the receiving end of his government’s mismanagement in the last two years.

“We cannot end this analysis without mentioning the comatose state of our economy in the last two years of this APC Administration.

The immediate past PDP Government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan grew Nigeria’s GDP from $270.5 billion in 2009, and handed over a Nigeria that had grown to become the fastest growing and largest economy in Africa and the 24th largest economy in the World, with a GDP of $574 billion.

“In May 2015, the PDP also handed over a single digit inflation rate but today, Inflation Rate in Nigeria is at a double digit of 17.26%.

‘’The recession we are experiencing today in the Country is as a result of the failure of the APC led Administration to properly manage our economy.

The Buhari Government is indeed clueless and had no economic plan until March 2017 when it launched the so called Recovery Plan.

The economy is at a standstill. “Major infrastructural development that began with the previous administrations of the PDP have been abandoned. Power Generation dwindled from over 5,000MW in 2015 to the present all time low of less than 2,000MW.

The only project of note that this government has ever commissioned is the Abuja- Kaduna railroad which was 99 percent completed by the PDP administration.

“Against this backdrop and more, we are at a loss in reconciling President Muhammadu Buhari’s Easter message that he has met the expectations of Nigerians to the grim reality we have painted above.

There is nothing to show by the APC led Government and we challenge the President and his team to articulate the two years achievement of this Government point by point and let Nigerians compare with previous PDP administrations.

On the anti-Corruption war, PDP said, “The War on corruption like other policies and programnmes of the Buhari led APC Administration has failed as well.

As we have mentioned in our previous statements, any war on corruption that is selective and targeted at humiliating only leaders and other members of the opposition is a total failure.

“The entire anti-corruption war of the APC since inception is just in the media with only one conviction.

Many of the Cases in Courts have been set aside and suspects discharged and acquitted while others are in EFCC and DSS detention centers without trial against their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Nigerians may also recall the several allegations of corruption made against prominent APC members that the Anti-graft Agency has not attended to.

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been rejected twice by the Nigerian Senate because of damning corruption allegations against him made by another agency of government .

“The same with the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal and a host of other government officials against whom very serious allegations have been made.

None of them have been subjected to the usual interrogations and investigation.”