By Lateef Ibrahim
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) to come clean on revelations, in the public space, that the N40 billion taxpayers’ money allegedly siphoned from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was used to finance its 2019 campaigns.
The PDP made the call in a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja.
The party pointed out that the revelation, which has reportedly unsettled certain persons in the Buhari Presidency, has further exposed the APC as a pretender at very high levels.
The development, PDP said, has further vindicated its stand that the APC is an extremely callous and hypocritical party, which has no iota of conscience but takes delight in depriving citizens and pillaging resources meant for the wellbeing of our people.
According to the statement, “It is shameful that instead of being remorseful, agents of the APC are reportedly engaging in dirty infighting over how the money was “shared”, with certain top leaders of the APC allegedly getting up to N3 billion each”.
The PDP cautioned the APC not to take Nigerians for a ride with its usual diversionary empty denials, finger pointing, hauling of insults and spurious accusations against the PDP, as the public already has reports of how very top leaders of the APC, including those operating at the Presidency, were used to conduit the money from the FIRS.
It stated further, “The PDP holds that in a nation battling the scourge of corruption, misrule, huge unemployment, unprecedented infrastructural decay, insecurity, hunger and untold hardship, such a humongous allegation must not be allowed to go under the usual APC carpet.
“Our party submits that since the APC has been overtly indicted, it should come clean by refunding the N40 billion to the public coffers from where it should be channeled to job creation projects without further delay.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the APC and its Federal Government have failed to account for various pillaging of public funds under the Buhari administration, including the N14 trillion stolen through various phony contracts in the NNPC as well as direct drawings from other government agencies such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
“The PDP notes that if the trillions of naira stolen and stashed away in private purses of APC leaders are recovered and directed to development projects, our nation will not be in its present sorry state under the Buhari administration”, it said.
