The Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), on Friday said the revelation that the Minister of
Communication, Adebayo Shittu, dodged his compulsory one-year national service,
validates its position that President Muhammadu Buhari has many persons of
questionable character in his cabinet.
Against this
backdrop, PDP “demands the arrest and sack” of Shittu.
In a
statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said President
Buhari, in appointing fraudulent persons to hold key offices in his government,
has shown that he has a weighty integrity burden, contrary to the ‘Mr. Clean’
posturing, which his handlers had always wanted Nigerians to believe.
The
opposition party noted Buhari has the moral burden of explaining what gains he
derives from appointing fraudulent characters into very sensitive positions, a
development that questions his integrity as a leader.
The
statement said, “President Buhari should provide answer to allegations that
such individuals are being used as henchmen to fritter away trillions of naira
from our treasury to service All Progressives Congress (APC) interests and the
Presidency cabal
“Nigerians
know how President Buhari refused to sack, let alone prosecute the disgraced
erstwhile minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, despite her culpability in
certificate forgery and how the agents of the Federal Government escorted her
out of the country to prevent her from opening up on the humongous corruption
in the Buhari Presidency.
“Mr.
President has also not declared why he has refused to sack or prosecute his
Special Assistant on Prosecution and Chairman of the Special Investigative
Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, despite
declaration by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) that he parades a
fake certificate.
“This is in
addition to official cover which the Buhari Presidency provides for corrupt
officials in various sectors, including the Petroleum Ministry, where over N10
trillion is alleged to have been stolen under fictitious contracts and sleazy
oil subsidy deals as well as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), where
indicted officials were reinstated by the Presidency.
“In fact,
the effrontery with which Adebayo Shittu is trying to justify his crime against
the nation speaks volume of the impunity in the Buhari administration.”
PDP
expressed sadness that the “corruption of the Buhari administration has
continued to smear our nation in the international arena, leading to the
current dearth in foreign direct investments and development partnership to our
country.
“We charge
the police to immediately charge Adebayo Shittu, while President Buhari should
note that Nigerians have lost confidence in his anti-corruption fight.
“We,
therefore, urge President Buhari to prepare himself to accept defeat in the
2019 Presidential elections and quit the stage for a sincere,
development-oriented President that will be elected on the platform of the
PDP,” the statement added.
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