The All Progressives Congress has listed new instances of alleged looting of the treasury by some officials of the Jonathan Administration, saying the corruption mess that characterised the administration was so pervasive that until it is cleaned, Nigeria will not be able to actualise its potentials.
”Those who would rather give comfort to the looters by dismissing the media exposure of looting cases as mere hell-raising should realise that no sane person can be silent in the face of what is unfolding as the worst cases of brazen stealing of public funds in Nigeria’s history,” the party said in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
”On August 16, 2015, we listed some instances of the breath-taking looting of the treasury by some officials of the immediate past administration. Today, we bring three more heart-rendering cases to the attention of Nigerians. We will not relent until closure has been brought to this issue,” it said, listing the new cases as:
– A mind-shattering 2.2 billion-US-dollar arms scandal.
– A 6.9 million-dollar fraud by the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Jonathan, committed under the guise of buying three mobile stages for the President.
– A 2.5 billion-Naira scam involving the rent of house boats.
”While those charged with handling these cases are finalising the details of bringing the suspects to justice, our immediate concern is the attempt by the PDP, under whose umbrella the looting took place, to blame the Buhari administration for the mess and then infer that things have been worse in Nigeria in the last three months under the APC-led federal government than in the 16 years under the PDP. This is totally provocative, shameless and uncharitable.
”They say we are yet to fulfil our campaign promises to Nigeria, but they have forgotten that if only the PDP/Jonathan administration had not stolen Nigeria blind, there would have been more than enough money to give school children in Nigeria not just one, but three meals a day and even pay 5,000 Naira to 50 million most vulnerable Nigerians, not just the 25 million we promised in our manifesto,” APC said
Despite the almost daily discovery of cases of corruption under the Jonathan administration, the party assured Nigerians of better days ahead, as all its campaign promises would be kept because of the commitment and determination of President Buhari, not only to cleaning the Augean Stable, but also ensuring purposeful governance for the benefit of all Nigerians.
”It is clear to all Nigerians that the debilitating impact of 16 years of PDP’s misrule cannot be reversed in just three months. It is an obvious truth that it is always easier to destroy than to construct, but nothing will stand in the way of the Buhari administration’s commitment to improving the quality of life of Nigerians and making our country to function again,” it said.
It said a major cog in the wheel of faster progress for the new Nigeria under President Buhari had been the discovery that the pot housing the commonwealth had been licked dry by the looters of yesterday, hence the need to work meticulously to recover the looted funds and facilitate the delivery of good governance that would manifest in abundant jobs, strong economy and improved welfare and security for Nigerians.
APC said while the PDP, ever steeped in the pursuit of lies, presented the recently released data on job creation and economic growth as “clear signals” that President Muhammadu Buhari was failing Nigerians, the disgraced party mischievously omitted the fact that those numbers were basically a manifestation of the disastrous final days of President Jonathan’s failed economic policies.
It commended Nigerians for showing absolute understanding and faith in the leadership of President Buhari to change the way that Nigeria has been misruled in the last 16 years, saying in the days ahead, the painstaking efforts of the President would manifest even more than Nigerians had already witnessed.
