By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to provide details of the N800 billion, which the Federal Government claimed to have recovered as a result of its whistle blower policy.
The party further alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government is suppressing information on corruption and diverting the attention of Nigerians from the humongous sleaze that have bedeviled the administration of President Muhammad Buhari.
The PDP in a Press Conference by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Thursday at the party’s National Headquarters, Abuja said that the ruling party has resorted to distortion of facts and daring of citizens even as its is evident that its officials are all soiled in corruption.
He said, “We challenge the APC federal government to give account of the N800 billion, which Lai Mohammed claimed to have been recovered, especially given allegations that recovered monies have been re-looted and shared among topmost officials of the Buhari administration and APC leaders.
“Rather than resorting to false performance claims, the expectation of Nigerians is that this administration would have sent Lai Mohammed to apologise for this display of gross abuse of position especially as it relates to the fight against corruption.
“Our party holds that this is an evasion of gory tales of direct stealing, treasury looting and barefaced embezzlements by government officials and APC leaders as already exposed in on-going investigations at the National Assembly and at the presidential panel.
“With this shocking suppression of information related to corrupt practices, by no other person than the minister of information, Nigerians and the world at large are no longer in doubt that concealment of corruption in ministries, department and agencies is an official policy of the APC administration because their leaders are involved”.
The party called on the federal government to provide reasons why it failed to prosecute its officials indicted in the N90 billion stolen from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), looting of N33 billion from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the stealing of over N18 billion from the rehabilitation of IDPs in the Northeast as well as the over N25 billion from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) among others.
The party challenged the minister of information to inform Nigerians why government failed to address the allegation by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, that the N500bn meant for Social Investment Program under this administration was diverted to private purses.
PDP challenged the Minister to name those behind the $2.5 billion (N1.175 trillion) Chinese Gates oil theft scandal, in which officials of the administration were alleged to have been involved.
The party demanded clarifications on the alleged involvement of APC leaders in the looting of over N14 trillion, including the N9.6 trillion ($25 billion) leaked in an NNPC memo as well as the diversion over N1 trillion worth of crude oil using 18 unregistered companies linked to APC leaders as well as the sleaze in fraudulent oil subsidy regime.
PDP said that the corruption under the APC had reached an embarrassing crescendo that it could no longer be concealed.
