Why Buhari, ruling party are desperate to retain power, by PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) “are desperate to remain in power at all cost so as to continue to exploit Nigerians, protect their corrupt leaders, cover their incompetence and conceal the humongous sleaze in their administration.”

A statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, further claimed: “This is the reason the APC and the cabal at the incompetent Buhari presidency resorted to violence, intimidation as well as manipulations and alteration of results at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the February 23 presidential election.

“This also explains why APC agents and certain presidential aides have been making desperate efforts to distract the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal and derail the course of justice by making and promoting baseless judicial interpretations and externalising the proceedings of the court.”

The main opposition party continued: “The President Buhari-led APC administration wants to remain in power to prevent investigation into the N14 trillion allegedly stolen under its watch, including the N9 trillion stolen from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as detailed in the leaked NNPC memo; the over N1.4 trillion alleged oil subsidy sleaze and the N1.1 trillion worth of crude diverted using 18 unregistered companies linked to APC interests.

“This is in addition to the N33 billion National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) fund and the over N18 billion stolen out of the N48 billion approved by the National Assembly in the 2017 budget for the rehabilitation of IDPs in the North East, among others.

“Furthermore, the Buhari-led APC administration is desperate to avoid an investigation into its unwholesome borrowings that led to the escalation of our nation’s debt stock from N12.12 trillion in 2015 to an overburdening N24.39 trillion in 2018.”

The PDP also claimed: “Within a space of three years, this administration has borrowed a total of N12.27 trillion, yet it cannot point to any significant development project into which the money was invested. This includes the N2.66 trillion borrowed in 2018 ahead of the 2019 general elections.”

It further alleged: “The fact that the Buhari presidency lacks the competence and integrity to run a creative, transparent and credible administration that can guarantee economic growth, wealth creation and a dependable system has become a globally accepted one.”

The party lamented that “the negative effect is the further dipping of our economy, as investor’s confidence, which shored up at the expressed resolve by Nigerians to elect Atiku Abubakar as their next president, slumped with the rigging of the presidential election.”