WorldStage Newsonline– The Federal Government of Nigeria on Friday listed National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Seconduns among some members of his party to be among those who alleged looted the national treasury when the party was in power.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Seconduns took N200 million from the office of then National Security Adviser (NSA) on Feb. 19, 2015.
Among those listed were PDP Financial Secretary, Bolaji Anani on Oct 2014, took N600 million from the office of then NSA; party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisah Metuh, is on trial for collecting N1.4 billion from the office of then NSA; Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of DAAR Communications is also on trial, for allegedly taking N2.1 billion also from the office of the NSA; Dudafa Waripamo-Owei, former SSA to President Goodluck Jonathan, is also on trial over N830 million kept in accounts of four different companies; a Federal High Court recently ruled that the former President Jonathan’s cousin Robert Azibaola had a case to answer for collecting 40 million dollars from the office of then NSA
PDP had recently challenged the ruling party to name the looters under their watch if they actually know any.
Mohammed said, “They said they did not loot the treasury. Well, I am sure they know that the treasury was looted dry under their watch.
“Yet they decided to grandstand. This shows the hollowness of their apology to Nigerians.”
He said the list was just a tip of the iceberg, and that the PDP was aware of this.
He said, “We did not make these cases up. Many of these cases are in court and the records are available.
“Some of the people on this list are seeking to plea bargain, and that is a fact.
“We insist that Nigeria was looted blind under the watch of the PDP, and that the starting point in tendering an apology is for them to return the loot.
“It is like a robber admitting to stealing your car and apologizing, but then saying he will keep the car anyway. It doesn’t work that way.
“The PDP is a hypocrite, and that reminds me of what English writer William Hazlitt said: ‘The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of a hypocrite is itself hypocrisy’.
“We will not stop talking about the massive looting by the PDP. They brought Nigeria to this sorry pass.
“We are now looking around for loans to build infrastructure, and they ask us not to talk about it. we will talk about it”.
On whether the position of government was prejudice since they had not been convicted by court, the minister said they were dared by the party to give the names.
He added that they had enough evidence to prove the allegations against them.
LIST OF LOOTERS IS HOLLOW AND LAUGHABLE – PDP
Meanwhile, the PDP has reacted to the list of the looters released by the government, describing it as “hollow and laughable” .
The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday in Abuja described the list as an extension of Federal Government’s media trial and challenged it to come up with names of its members against whom the government had secured convictions.
Ologbondiyan stated that the list put forward by the Federal Government as purported looters amounts to a cheap blackmail, saying that none of those listed have been indicted or convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction or any panel of enquiry in the country.
PDP said the list made available by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, only revealed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency have no prove of corruption against the PDP.
The party added that in its “frenzy and desperation”, the Federal Government even included names of individuals who were not standing trial or under investigation for any act of corruption, as well as people not even PDP members.
“The APC Federal Government has manifested its frenzy by going after matters that are in court and in which none of the persons have been convicted.”
The party said that the APC thus betraying its desperation to mislead the public, the court and divert attention from the heavy looting involving its members.
“We are not in doubt that the individuals he has mentioned will take their legitimate stride and pursue appropriate action in the court.
“However, attacks on individuals, who are members of our party, does not in anyway detract from the fact that the PDP, as a political platform, is not a party of corruption.”
Ologbondiyan added that it was unfortunate that the APC and its government under whose watch horrendous sleazes were happening on daily basis.
He noted that the APC led government which had failed to fulfill the littlest of its campaign promises, could spend a wholesome three years searching for flimsy allegations to discredit PDP and its members.
“This is a government that is yet to account for $26 billion (N9 trillion) stolen through corrupt oil contracts in the NNPC, N1.1 trillion worth of crude diverted to service APC interests, N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) intervention fund stolen by APC officials.
“This include the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, the N10 billion National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for which members of the Buhari cabal were indicted.
“This includes the Mainagate, where the APC government recalled and reinstated an individual indicted for scam running into billions of naira.
“This is in addition to cover provided for serving ministers indicted for corrupt enrichment, among whom is a prominent former APC governor from the South South, who was indicted by his state for stealing billions of naira to fund President Buhari’s campaign in 2015.”
He emphasised that the PDP was on a rebound, saying that such flimsy allegations by the APC and its horde of looters, could not stop it from challenging the Federal Government to fulfill its campaign promises.
“Since, the APC has decided to draw this attack, we will no longer hold back but appropriately commence a serialization of all looters hiding in APC and the Presidency,” he said.
