BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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The Peoples Democratic Party says the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari has been economical with the truth over the preparation for gubernatorial election in Kogi State and controversial remittances to the Treasury Single Account
THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has faulted some statements on the activities of federal government on the gubernatorial election in Kogi State and the Treasury Single Account, TSA. The PDP said all the statements made by the ruling All Progressives Congress on the two issues had been contradictory and unreliable.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, November 17, Olisa Metuh, publicity secretary of the PDP, said the party had been watching with keen interest the exchange of words between the National Assembly and the federal executive over the controversies surrounding the handling of the remittances in the TSA as well as the conflicting statements between the Presidency and the Independent Nation Electoral Commission, INEC, on the secret meetings between the two bodies on Kogi governorship election.
On the operations of the TSA, the PDP said the conflicting statements emanating from the federal executive, through Lai Mohammed, minister of information and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, underscored the fear being raised by the Senate that there could have been underhand deals in the process.
The party statement said whereas the Senate had ordered its committee on finance and public accounts to investigate the remitting and handling of N2.5 trillion into the TSA, Mohammed had earlier told the nation that the sum of N1.4 trillion had been remitted, while the CBN put its figure at below a trillion and announced an estimated collectable amount of N1.2 trillion.
“The PDP finds this discordant tune and Monday’s brazen attack by the minister of information on whistle blowers as completely unacceptable and contradictory of a government that rode to power on the garb of ‘Mr. Clean’.
“This is addition to the fact that the firm handling the TSA remittances has been given the leeway to rake millions of naira into unknown purses from fees charged MDAs for training of their personnel involved in the TSA,” Metuh said.
The party thus challenged the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to show transparency and be bold and honest enough to state clearly the amount on the remittances instead of trying to use politics to hide the rot in the system.
“Similarly, the PDP draws the attention of Nigerians and the international community to the inconsistency in the denials by the presidency and the INEC regarding the revelation of their secret meetings to plot the manipulation of Saturday’s Kogi State governorship election to ensure victory for the All Progressives Congress, APC,” the PDP spokesman said.
He said while the INEC out rightly denied ever holding any such meeting with the Presidency, through Shehu Garba, senior special assistant to President Buhari on media and publicity, acknowledged holding the secret meeting, but said it lasted only five minutes.
“We ask, who do Nigerians believe; the Presidency or the INEC? The fact remains that the contradictions betray the element of conspiracy by this APC administration to rig the Kogi governorship election.
“We also wish to further expose the insincerity of this government, which in its attempt to forcefully take-over Kogi State, is now flooding the state with corrupt money ostensibly to sway the people and purchase their mandate. This primitive attempt at vote-buying is not only an insult on the people of Kogi State but also setback to efforts towards credible elections in Nigeria,” he said.
The PDP, therefore, said the same government that prided itself of being incorruptible had in addition to fielding persons facing corruption charges in Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections had earlier in Kebbi, fielded Governor Atiku Bagudu, who falsely declared to the INEC that he had never been convicted, imprisoned or fined for any wrongdoing. Whereas, he said it was on record that Bagudu was indicted and now a wanted person by the United States Justice Department, for which he is now facing pre-election charges at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note all these inconsistencies, double-speaks and flip-flops as clear evidence of a government with a dubious intention; even as it continues in the attempts to make Nigerians believe that it is transparent in its dealings,” Metuh said.
— Nov 18, 2015 @ 15:40 GMT
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