May 15, 2022

The Centre for Integrity and Good Governance (CIGG) has rebuked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for asking the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele to resign for his partisanship and to be ready for investigation, prosecution and possible conviction.

The PDP had in a press statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, accused the CBN under Emefiele of massive looting, manipulations and doctoring of the books as part of the corruption that has dogged the President Muhammadu Buhari government.

The CIGG in a press statement issued on Sunday by its Convener, Mr. Waheed Aderibigbe and Co-convener, Mr. Obinna Ukariaku, dismissed the PDP as a bad loser and a party that thrives in habitual nagging and sour grape.

The statement reads inter alia: “We acknowledge the constitutional right of the PDP to pass comment and hold opinion on any issue including the case of Dr. Godwin Emefiele and the CBN. We commend the PDP for voicing out its frustrations, but we are aghast that a party like the PDP, famed and notorious for primitive looting of the Nigerian treasury, is the one tagging the Buhari government and Emefiele as corrupt.

“While we do not hold brief for the APC government or Emefiele, as they can adequately speak for themselves, we are bemused by the brazen boldness of the PDP to tag any government or person in Nigeria as corrupt. We would like to place on record that if any person or group of persons should be investigated, prosecuted and possibly convicted, it is the PDP and its members, the party that institutionalized corruption in Nigeria during its 16 years of leadership.

“Need we remind the PDP that the worst form of corruption happened during its 16 years of mis-governance, namely; budget padding, contract value inflation, bribery of National Assembly members (with evidence of raw cash in naira displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives) and other forms of bribery, certificate falsification, mindless looting of state treasuries by PDP governors with some convicted and jailed abroad.

“Under the PDP, money meant for the purchase of arms and ammunition to contain insurgency were diverted and shamelessly shared by state actors and party men; under the PDP, crude oil sold for over $100 per barrel yet the money was looted by party men and women and their cohorts with nothing to show for it in terms of infrastructural development, healthcare delivery or educational advancement.

“We hereby remind the PDP how it spent the sum of N2.2 billion on prayer alone for the defeat of insurgency, according to EFCC investigating officer, Mr Adariko Michael, who was testifying in November 2021 in the case of former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (retd), now known as Dasukigate. Such scandalous, albeit ridiculous, claim of spending billions of naira for prayer can only come from a shameless party like the PDP.

“Perhaps, we should remind the PDP of the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari in February 2018 during an APC National Caucus meeting that the PDP squandered about $500 billion oil earnings in the 16 years it was in power from 1999 to 2015.

“We reproduce here the exact words of President Buhari: “It is easy to forget the fuel subsidy fraud, arms fund diversion, depleted excess crude account savings, depleted foreign reserves, massive unpaid debts to contractors and suppliers amidst failure to invest or even maintain our infrastructure namely railways, roads, electricity, in spite of having earned over $500 billion from oil & gas alone, during the 16 years of PDP rule.”

“The PDP should let Emefiele be as he continues to clean the mess and heal the injury which the PDP inflicted on the nation through wanton liquidation of the nation’s foreign reserve, mindless sharing of excess crude oil cash and manifest negligence of national infrastructure,” the statement said.