ABUJA — The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday, faulted what it
described as a massive campaign to stop the recovery of an estimated
N13.972 trillion allegedly squandered by the immediate past
administration.
The N13.972trn as computed by Vanguard was the summation of funds
allegedly unaccounted for, withheld or allegedly stolen mostly from the
oil sector.
The party said in a statement, yesterday, that the campaign to stop the
recovery of the funds would be a total disservice to probity and public
decency.
The APC’s assertion was immediately rebuffed by the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, which described the APC claim as reckless,
irresponsible and highly provocative.
The PDP said APC’s display of imaginary figures was a desperate effort
by the ruling party to achieve a heinous agenda against the Goodluck
Jonathan administration.
The PDP also yesterday, appealed to Nigerians and the international
community to appeal to President Muhaamdu Buhari to guard against what
the party claimed as the seeming determination of the government to
derail the country’s democracy. Citing what it claimed was an attempt to
stifle democratic institutions, the opposition party said that Buhari
was showing himself not to be a born again democrat as he had earlier
claimed.
The APC which described as mind-boggling, the massive looting of the
nation’s treasury by public officials during the Jonathan
administration, vowed that nothing but the total recovery of the funds
will be acceptable to patriotic Nigerians.
The APC reaction followed commentaries at the weekend that trailed the
assertion by the National Peace Committee for caution in the war against
graft. Besides, a member of the committee, Bishop Matthew Kukah was
also quoted last week as calling on the administration not to focus on a
probe of the Jonathan administration.
In a statement issued in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said anyone who attempts,
either by deeds or words, to sabotage the recovery efforts is not a
patriot and deserves nothing but public opprobrium.
Narrating some of the funds allegedly stolen or unaccounted for during the Jonathan administration, the APC said:
*3.8 trillion Naira out of the 8.1 trillion Naira earned from crude oil (2012-2015) withheld by NNPC
*2.1 billion US dollars (N413.7 billion) from Excess Crude Account unaccounted for
*Department of Petroleum Resources’ unremitted 109.7 billion Naira royalty from oil firms
*6 billion US dollars (N1.182 trillion) allegedly looted by some ministers of the last administration
*160 billion barrels of crude worth 13.9 billion US dollars (N2.7383) lost between 2009 and 2012
*15 million US dollars (N2.955 trillion) from botched arms deal yet to be returned to Nigeria
*13 billion US dollars (N2.561 trillion) in NLNG dividends mostly unaccounted for
*30 billion Naira rice waiver
*183 billion naira unaccounted for at the NDDC
Tip of the iceberg
Remarkably, the APC said the above listed ‘missing’ funds constituted
just a tip of the iceberg since they are mostly from a few sectors of
the economy, mostly the oil sector, and were discovered even before the
forensic audit now being undertaken in some key areas.
Saying that the present administration cannot turn a blind eye to such,
the APC said: “It is absolutely gratifying that Nigerians are
vehemently opposed to the few who would rather have the government of
the day turn a blind eye to the looted funds and, in their words, carry
on with the process of governance.
“Truly, what sort of governance can go on if the billions of Naira in a
few hands are not recovered? In the first instance, the government needs
every kobo of the funds it can muster to bring about the change it has
promised Nigerians. Secondly, leaving such hair-raising funds in the
hands of the few looters is dangerous, because they can use the funds to
destabilize any government. In fact, no one will be surprised if the
looters use their dirty funds to sponsor public demonstrations against
the government’s determination to recover the funds.
“Thirdly, allowing those who privatized the commonwealth to get away is
offering a thumbs-up for looting. No responsible government will do
that,” APC said.
The party said that already, the looters have embarked on a relentless
and an increasingly-bold campaign to discredit the government of the day
and sabotage the funds’ recovery process, using newspaper columnists,
‘talking heads’ and otherwise respectable opinion leaders.
“They and their paid hirelings have tried to employ sophistry to muddle
the waters, but Nigerians are much wiser, and will not succumb to the
dirty antics of the looters’ megaphones,” it said.
APC said it is necessary to remind Nigerians of the kind of massive
looting of the treasury that took place in the past few years, so they
can better appreciate the seriousness of the issue at stake. It,
therefore, listed some instances of the looting as follows: “The level
of looting that went on in other sectors is better imagined, hence the
need for all Nigerians to rally around the Buhari Administration to
recover the loots, bring the looters to justice and to put in place
measures to prevent such looting in the future,” it said.
It’s all lies — PDP
In its response yesterday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief
Olisa Metuh, described the claims by the APC as a desperate attempt by
the APC to get public approval.
The PDP said: “In trying to escalate their stock-in-trade of lies, wild
allegations and falsehood, the APC failed to understand that their
baseless fabrications are capable of throwing an unsuspecting nation
into chaos.
“The spate of fabrications by Lai Mohammed has become a sickening source
of worry for well-meaning Nigerians, including those in his party.”
The PDP, therefore, called on President Buhari and the APC as a party,
to call their spokesman to order before “he plunges the country into
crisis with wild and unsubstantiated claims.”
The PDP said instead of engaging in unnecessary playing to the gallery,
the APC-led government should get serious with the fight against
corruption by investigating and prosecuting corrupt persons, while
moving on with the demands of governance, especially in fulfilling their
numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the
centre.
The PDP in another statement accused the APC-led government of aiming to
undermine the critical democratic institutions and notably, the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC which it said had now
been laid constitutionally prostrate on account of lack of a quorum.
Metuh said despite claims of being a converted democrat,n President
Buhari has allowed, under his watch, an incessant violation of sections
of the nation’s constitution, a development that has become a huge
threat to democracy and the stability of the nation.
“For instance, how can this government explain the fact that a major
institution of democracy like the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) has been deliberately debilitated to the extent that
it can no longer perform its statutory responsibility for lack of
quorum?
“Nigerians are aware that before his tenure expired on June 30, the
former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega wrote to President Buhari,
intimating him of the fact that the tenure of majority of the national
commissioners will expire before August, yet the President never acted,
resulting in the present crisis in the commission, where more than 80%
out of the statutory 13 members remain vacant, even as 11 states of the
federation are also without Resident Electoral Commissioners.
“We note that this anomaly is in addition to the uncertainty surrounding
the controversial appointment of an Acting Chairman of INEC in the
person of a national commissioner whose tenure has since expired, not
minding that there is no provision for an acting chairman of INEC in our
constitution.
“This development has completely enervated the commission from carrying
out its functions as stipulated in part 1 of 3rd schedule of the 1999
constitution as amended, thereby putting our electoral system under
severe threat.
“We ask, if not for a possibility of an ulterior motive to inject a
constitutional crisis and undermine the nation’s democracy, why should
President Buhari wait to be urged before he upholds his responsibility
of forwarding replacements to the Senate for confirmation so as to
enable the commission effectively carry out its constitutional
responsibilities to the nation? ”
“Could this be a ploy by the APC-led government to use a decapitated
INEC to conduct the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and
Bayelsa to pave way for their planned ‘capture’ of the two PDP states?
“Is the weakening of INEC not part of the plot to use the commission to
put the PDP in precarious position in various electoral tribunals to the
advantage of the APC?
The PDP also faulted the administration’s failure to constitute a
cabinet and what it cited as the repeated attacks on the “revered
national
leaders in the National Peace Committee, which has as members, former
Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, His
Eminence, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, respected clerics; Archbishop John
Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kuka, retired justices of superior
records as well as others highly respected patriotic Nigerians, for
daring to counsel Buhari’s government on some observed undemocratic
tendencies and processes.
“The crass attacks are more astonishing, considering the much
appreciated role these great Nigerians played in ensuring a peaceful and
violence free 2015 general elections.
“This is especially as we have no reason to believe that such weighty
attacks from the President’s party can come without his approval, more
so as the APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who authored the
statements was not part of the meeting between the President and the
Peace Committee.
Noting that the party is not against the anti-graft war, the party
called on its former members now in the APC who were groomed in
democratic ethos while in the PDP to nudge their new party towards good
manners.
“We call on some well-meaning Nigerians who have found themselves in the
APC, especially, those who at one time or the other, were pupils of the
teachings and visions of the founding fathers of the
PDP, to rise above the shallowness of their temporary enclave and join in this major defence of democratic ethos”.
