Looters list: You can’t divert attention from your misrule, PDP tells FG

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday observed that the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have failed in their ploy to use their so-called looters’ lists to divert public discourse from the raging questions “on their numerous scandals, manifest sleazes and overall failures in governance.”

The party said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja that the nation has now seen that the Federal Government has no case against the PDP, as the lists only have individuals who are not indicted or convicted for corruption, some of who are not even members of the PDP.

The main opposition party added: “It is now a notorious fact that the whole essence of the flimsy and contemptible lists was to cause public misperception, ‘change the topic’ and divert international and national discourse from various serious issues including;

“The parlous state of the nation’s economy caused by President Muhammadu Buhari’s misrule, for which Nigerians are now resorting to vices, including slavery and suicide as options.

“The intensive global vote of no confidence on President Buhari-led APC-government, particularly on its painful anti-people policies, as presented in damning verdicts by international figures, the latest being the world renowned Bill Gates.

“The vote of no confidence on the Buhari administration by eminent statesmen, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former military President Ibrahim Babangida and former minister of defence and ex-chief of army staff, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, who also indicted this administration of failing to protect the citizens.

“The international interest over speculations of conspiracy theorem on the alleged manipulation of security in the abduction and return of the Dapchi schoolgirls for which Amnesty International (AI) has called for an open inquest.

“The international embarrassment over alleged procurement of the Martin Luther King Jr Award for President Buhari, which has now attracted global opprobrium to our dear nation and entire citizenry.

“The Transparency International (TI) latest verdict, indicting the Buhari-led government of superintending over the spiralling of corruption in Nigeria in the last three years.

“Efforts by the Buhari Presidency to conceal the N9 trillion corrupt oil contracts at the NNPC, alleged stealing of N1.1 trillion worth of crude oil, looting of N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) intervention fund and the stealing of N10 billion National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), all by APC officials and Presidency cabal.

“The public resentment that trailed President Buhari’s last week’s visit to Lagos as well as his embarrassment at the National Mosque last Friday, where worshippers demonstrated their resentments to his administration and almost resorted to near mob action.”

According to the PDP, “These are issues that cannot be swept under the carpet using any ploy whatsoever.”

The party said while it still challenged the APC to name any members of the repositioned and rebranded PDP convicted for corruption, it wished to remind them that its three-day ultimatum to explain the source of looted fund to finance President Buhari’s 2015 campaign still subsisted and no amount of blackmail or intimidation can stop Nigerians from holding the dysfunctional APC accountable.

The party has asked Nigerians to hold President Buhari-led All APC Federal Government directly responsible for the avoidable and painful death of Dr Ndukwu Chizaram of the Federal Medical Center, Umuahia, Abia state.

The party said this promising and patriotic medical practitioner had to pay the supreme price over avoidable exposure to Lassa fever, because of the low premium the APC administration placed on the lives of Nigerians and the health sector in particular.

The PDP, in a separate statement also its National Publicity Secretary, described the failure of the APC Federal Government to provide medical personnel with the requisite equipment and facilities to effectively and safely discharge their duties as absolutely wicked, inhuman and the height of insensitivity.

It said: “While we are deeply pained by this tragedy, we are very worried about the safety of our health personnel in Federal Government’s health facilities following the established lack-lustre approach of the APC administration to health issues in Nigeria.

“It is indeed very sad that instead of addressing these health and sundry issues, APC leaders are frittering away our commonwealth on medical tourism in Europe while our hospitals had, in the last three years, sunk from the famed height attained under the PDP to mere consulting centres.”

The PDP demanded an unreserved apology from the APC and the Federal Government to the family of this doctor and the medical sector in general and urge them to come down from their high horse and take a cue from the PDP administration, in our effective handling of health challenges, particularly the Ebola outbreak and suppression of polio, among others.

It commiserated with the family of Dr Chizaram as well as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) over this sad loss.