The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday said the monstrous sleaze being revealed in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is just a tip of the iceberg on the stinking corruption and criminal racketeering in the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said the shocking details of the allegation by the former NDDC Managing Director, Joy Nunieh, of massive stealing, manipulation of budget processes, victimization and implication of innocent Nigerians as well as fetish practices by corrupt officials, allegedly spearheaded by the supervising Minister, Godswill Akpabio, have further exposed how ministries, agencies and departments, MDAs, are run under the Buhari-led APC administration.
A statement signed by Ologbondiyan said the “silence and inaction by the Buhari Presidency and the APC since the uncovering of the fraud in the NDDC signposts complicity at the highest levels as well as validates the public stance that treasury looting and cover-up for corrupt persons are normal official statecraft and manifesto of the APC and the Buhari administration.”
He added: “Nigerians are still in a state of shock over reports of how the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Akpabio, allegedly bullied officials to pillage the Commission’s foreign currency account; how the laid down procedures of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) are allegedly circumvented to siphon unapproved budgets as well as how innocent workers and federal legislators, who are averse to corrupt practices, were victimized, implicated and even harassed with fetish practices.
“The allegation by the former NDDC MD that a certain NDDC top notch said he can kill if Senator Akpabio asks him to do so, shows the level of recklessness and the victimization in MDAs under the APC rule.
“More distressing is that the Buhari Presidency and the APC had remained silent even when the embattled minister has not provided any concrete defence to the allegations beyond personal attacks on the whistleblowers.
“Nigerians will recall that our party had in April, alerted of massive looting in the NDDC and called for an investigation, which was, however, not addressed by the government.
“Our party had also alerted that the NDDC management has not been able to give a cogent explanation to the reported Lassa fever contract fraud through which over N4 billion naira NDDC fund was alleged to have been frittered on hazy procurement deals.”
Recall that the sacked Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, Nunieh had accused Akpabio of fraudulent practices.
Reacting, Akpabio claimed that the former NDDC boss had a character problem.
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