The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Sunday made new allegations of corrupt practices against the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
It accused the leadership of the PDP of instances of insane looting of the treasury, saying that the mess that characterized the past administration was so pervasive that until it was cleaned, Nigeria would not be able to actualize its potentials.
It listed the new cases of corruption it had just discovered as the $2.2 billion US arms scandal, a $6.9 million fraud by the Chief Security Officer, CSO, to President Jonathan, committed under the guise of buying three mobile stages for the President and the N2.5 billion scam involving the rent of house boats.
It said that it was virtually impossible for the ruling APC to keep quiet in the face of massive corruption that it had recently discovered.
In a statement issued by the party in Abuja by its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, the APC listed other acts of impunity carried out by the Jonathan led administration.
”On Aug. 16th 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 rending cases to the attention of Nigerians. We will not relent until closure has been brought to this issue,” it said.
”While those charged with handling these cases are finalizing 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 past 3 months under the APC-led federal government than in the 16 years under the PDP. This is totally provocative, shameless and uncharitable,” the APC said.
It said further that even if the APC was yet to fulfill some of its campaign promises, the slow pace ought to be attributed to the PDP, which stole massive funds that would have been used for developmental projects by the new government.
The party however assured Nigerians of better days ahead, as all its campaign promises will be kept because of the commitment and determination of President Buhari.
”It is clear to all Nigerians that the debilitating impact of 16 years of PDP’s misrule cannot be reversed in just 3 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 the current administration would not be deterred in its efforts to birth a new Nigeria and urged Nigerians to be patient with the Buhari administration as it was battling with the global downturn in world economy as well as the rot left behind by the past government.
“Only very few countries, if any, are growing as fast as they did, in say two years ago. From China, India, Russia, South Africa, to Ghana, Malaysia and Brazil, every country is feeling the effects of a sustained slowdown in global growth,” it noted.
The APC spokesperson also said the government supports the policies of the CBN in its quest to ensure greater transparency in the Forex market and eliminate currency substitution in the economy.
It added that the CBN’s policy to stop cash deposits of foreign currency was in line with global best practices and had led to a drastic reduction in the bureau de change exchange rate for the dollar.