PDP says Buhari’s tardiness creating room for stealing

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the failure of President MUhammadu Buhari to appoint his ministers and other key officials of government 90 days after his election, has created room for corrupt practices which his administration promised to fight.

It insisted that the non-appointment of ministers and aides by the President was creating loopholes through which it alleged that some persons claiming closeness to the President have infiltrated executive bodies, arm-twisting and conniving with unscrupulous elements in the bureaucracy to siphon the nation’s resources in the last 30 days.

The party wondered how “the so-called clearing of mess (left by PDP) was responsible for President Buhari’s inability … to make up his mind on rudimentary appointments such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff and his demand for 15 Special Advisers as approved by the PDP-controlled seventh Assembly since June 5, 2015.”

National publicity secretary of the party in a statement on Monday said some persons he allegedly claiming closeness to the President) “have in the last 30 days been piling up sleazes that also need his attention in key agencies of government.”

According to him, “Despite the absence of approving and supervising officials, key income generating institutions like NNPC, NIMASA, NPA, FIRS and other strategic agencies have been invaded by persons claiming to be friends and associates of the President and this puts to question the sincerity and seriousness of the administration to affect the so-called change upon which they rode to power,” he added.

Auxiliary to this, according to Metuh, was the issue of the construction of a helipad, which he listed amongst other various expenses and other major government expenditure which he alleged were going on across board in the last one month.

All these, he added, were without due supervision as the President could not be everywhere.

Read Also: PDP berates APC over Buhari’s excuses

The spokesperson for the opposition party said that while the PDP had respect for the person and the office of the President, especially considering his age and status as an elder statesman, he insisted that “the President of the Federal Republic Nigeria is neither a Sherriff in the Old Wild West nor a military dictator in some Banana Republic.”

Metuh also insisted, that no amount of intimidation, blackmail or propaganda by the Presidency will stop it from standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigerians in demanding that President Buhari start the implementation of his campaign promises.

The opposition party said the Presidency’s excuse of clearing the mess created by the past PDP administration was lame and diversionary.

However, Metuh said in his statement that his party would not in any way be cowed by threats and wild allegations by the Presidency into abdicating its responsibility of speaking out against the present wrongdoings as an opposition party.

Metuh said that the PDP expected the governing party to be serious about the fight against corruption by probing and persecuting anyone found to have corruptly enriched himself.

He said such fight must be holistic without considering the political party such an individual belongs to.

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