PDP accuses Buhari govt of corruption, seeks probe of N1.4trn oil subsidy
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s government of corruption.
PDP said this in reaction to the N1.4 trillion naira spent of fuel subsidy.
PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, demanded probe of the alleged fraud as well as revenue collecting agencies under the presidency.
According to him, “Such inquest, which is already backed by state governors across board, will not only expose humongous corruption but also show the world that our African Union (AU) Anti-Corruption champion had not been totally spotless.
“We invite Nigerians to note that the demand by governors to probe all subsidy deals since 2015 is a direct indictment on President Buhari as the Minister of Petroleum, particularly, following allegations that the stolen funds are being warehoused to fund his 2019 re-election bid and the opulent lifestyle in the Presidential Villa.
“The party notes that if President Buhari allowed the inquest, it will reveal how our president, who had queried the genuineness of the oil subsidy payments by PDP administration and described the process as a fraud, had secretly engaged in underhand oil subsidy deals.
“Nigerians will also understand how the cost of fuel geometrically rose from the PDP subsidized cost of N87 to N145, representing a criminal N58 tax, per liter of fuel.”
The opposition party further recalled that it took over two years of secret oil subsidy deals under President Buhari before it was exposed last December.
PDP noted that since then, the Presidency and the NNPC have been seeking ways to cover the fraud which include claims that local consumption suddenly jumped from 28 million liters per day to 60 million liters per day.
The party claimed that it was a fabrication to cover the billions being stolen as subsidy, even when statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics and the reality of the retarded purchasing power of citizens, under the prevailing economic recession, do not validate such claims.
It stated: “Nigerian therefore deserve to know who authorised the payments and the identity of the beneficiary companies, if any.
“The PDP is happy that state governors across board and the National Assembly are on the same page with our party in condemning the humongous fraud going on under President Buhari’s fuel subsidy.
“The PDP therefore demands that the inquest covers the alleged the N15 billion stolen from the NHIS, the N18 billion stolen from the PINE initiative, the alleged leaked memo of N9 trillion corrupt oil contracts at the NNPC, the reported diversion of N1.1trillion worth of crude last year and why indicted Presidential cronies and fronts have not been prosecuted”.
