The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reiterated its stance that the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari is full of persons of “questionable character”.
The main opposition party made this known in a Friday statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan after it emerged that the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, skipped the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
Recall that The Herald, quoting a Premium Times investigation, had reported how Shittu graduated from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) at the age of 25 in 1978 but failed to participate in the NYSC programme as mandated by law.
The PDP said, “President Buhari, in appointing fraudulent persons to hold key offices in his government, has shown that he has a weighty integrity burden, contrary to the ‘Mr. Clean’ posturing which his handlers had always wanted Nigerians to believe.”
The party noted that “President Buhari has the moral burden of explaining what gains he derives from appointing fraudulent characters into very sensitive positions, a development that questions his integrity as a leader.”
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Furthermore, the party said, “President Buhari should provide answer to allegations that such individuals are being used as henchmen to fritter away trillions of naira from our treasury to service All Progressives Congress (APC) interests and the Presidency cabal.
“Nigerians know how President Buhari refused to sack, let alone prosecute the disgraced erstwhile minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, despite her culpability in certificate forgery and how the agents of the Federal Government escorted her out of the country to prevent her from opening up on the humongous corruption in the Buhari Presidency.
“Mr. President has also not declared why he has refused to sack or prosecute his Special Assistant on Prosecution and Chairman of the Special Investigative Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, despite declaration by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) that he parades a fake certificate.
“This is in addition to official cover which the Buhari Presidency provides for corrupt officials in various sectors, including the Petroleum Ministry, where over N10 trillion is alleged to have been stolen under fictitious contracts and sleazy oil subsidy deals as well as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), where indicted officials were reinstated by the Presidency.
“In fact, the effrontery with which Adebayo Shittu is trying to justify his crime against the nation speaks volume of the impunity in the Buhari administration.
“The PDP is very sad that the corruption of the Buhari administration have continued to smear our nation in the international arena, leading to the current dearth in foreign direct investments and development partnership to our country.
“PDP charges the police to immediately charge Adebayo Shittu, while President Buhari should note that Nigerians have lost confidence in his anti-corruption fight.
“PDP therefore urges President Buhari to prepare himself to accept defeat in the 2019 Presidential elections and quit the stage for a sincere, development oriented President that will be elected on the platform of the PDP.”