PDP wants Buhari probed over alleged rising graft, insecurity

•Procurement law breeding corruption, says Lawan
•Northern leaders mull solutions for security challenges

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday urged the National Assembly to investigate what it called “widespread insecurity, economic depression, treasury looting, abuse of office and violations that stamped the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration since May 2015.”

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party charged the federal legislators to protect the interest of millions of suffering Nigerians by invoking its powers in Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) “to recover the over N14 trillion stolen by government officials and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last four years.”

PDP held that a legislative action had become imperative, since according to it, “the Buhari presidency has failed to give cogent explanation on the alleged looting of over N9 trillion through sleazy oil contracts as detailed in the leaked NNPC memo; a situation that directly points to officials culpability.”

The party noted that “Nigerians also want the National Assembly to investigate the issues surrounding the reported stealing of N1.1 trillion worth of crude oil through 18 unregistered companies as well as the alleged looting of over N2.6 trillion in shady oil subsidy regime.”

It also challenged the legislature to investigate the alleged “siphoning of $322 million repatriated funds and the trillions of naira stolen under shady projects such as the ‘tradermoni’ project, among others.”

PDP equally noted that “only recently, the wife of the president, Hajia Aisha Buhari, raised the alarm that over N500 billion meant for poverty alleviation under the APC-led government did not get to the designated beneficiaries.”

It further held that “the humongous looting under the Buhari administration is directly responsible for the economic hardship Nigerians have been subjected to in the last four years.”

In a similar vein, Senate President Ahmad Lawan has declared that the Public Procurement Act had become a major cause of corruption in the country.

He said within the next couple of months, the upper legislative chamber would carry out a comprehensive review of the law with a view to sanitising the entire process of contract award and execution.

Receiving in audience the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and permanent secretaries from the presidency, Lawan said the piece of legislation in its current shape was a disincentive to development.

Besides, northern leaders, under the aegis of Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), have begun a two-day conference in Kaduna to proffer solutions to the nation’s lingering socio- economic problems.

The convener, Dr. Usman Bugaje, pointed out that the poor handling of governance and insecurity by the current administration had escalated insurgency, kidnapping and other social vices nationwide.

Also yesterday, authorities of Plateau State University (PLASU), Bokkos said it had beefed up security to avoid a repeat of the June 9,2019 incident where a 100-Level student of the geography department, Mr. Ugu Sheni Kimati, was killed following an invasion.

The vice chancellor, Professor Yohana Daniel Izam, dropped the hint during a meeting with the Students’ Union Government (SUG).

The institution’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), John Agam, said all hostel governors would be part of the new security architecture.