2023: PDP accuses APC of ‘stealing government funds’ for elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Muhammadu Buhari -led presidency of allowing the alleged mass looting of public funds to corruptly create a war chest for the APC to intimidate Nigerians and muscle the 2023 general elections.

PDP in a statement on Tuesday alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is diverting public funds meant for development purposes and salaries of workers to its coffers by orchestrating the purchase of its presidential nomination form by all manner of persons at an excessive N100 million to warehouse sleaze funds for the elections

Its Spokesman, Hon.  Debo Ologunagba claimed that the party has information on how public funds are being withdrawn from ministries, agencies, and parastatals of government and diverted to people who have no verifiable means of livelihood to purchase APC’s Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest forms for individuals without any electoral value and who cannot even win local government elections.

The statement read, “We have intelligence on how public funds are pulled out of government Agencies in a surreptitious design perfected by an APC leader in connivance with certain individuals in positions of authority close to top persons in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“Nigerians will recall that the PDP had earlier alerted on how the CBN under Mr. Godwin Emefiele as CBN Governor has been turned into the finance department of the APC where APC leaders fraudulently access public funds through nebulous subsidies, shady intervention programmes, and discriminatory exchange policies which perpetuate illegal arbitrage system

“The rejected APC has resorted to this underhand method to corruptly rake in billions of naira from the public treasury without consideration for the welfare of Nigerians.

“This APC’s nefarious action is informed by its realization that its leaders cannot make huge donations to the APC coffers as they will be violating the limits of contribution to political parties as stipulated by law and regulation.

“The APC is a sinking ship with ill-fated and inchoate sailors holding on to straw including this shameless attempt to sweep our national treasury. It is regrettable that the APC has shamelessly and soullessly extended their corruption to our electoral process not minding the consequential effect on our democratic system.

“In any case, such shenanigans and criminal pillaging of our treasury cannot prevent the imminent crushing defeat of the APC at the polls in 2023, Nigerians having realized the fraud and life discounting experiences that the APC represents,” it continued.

Ologunagba called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Accountant General of the Federation as well as the Auditor General of the Federation to immediately commence an investigation and monitor the movement of funds in Ministries, Department, and Agencies of government so as to protect the national treasury from the APC as Nigeria approaches the 2023 general elections.

He added that the National Assembly, pursuant to its constitutional duty to expose and prevent corruption, should in the interest of Nigerians commence a public investigation into these happenings.