The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to restore the integrity of the 2024 budget by immediately ordering an open investigation into the alleged insertion as well as a holistic review of the budget.
A statement issued by the party’s
National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said that the PDP stands by its
demand that Senator Akpabio should report at the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) for investigation into the alleged looting of N108 billion
belonging to the people of Akwa Ibom State and the N86 billion alleged contract
scam under his watch as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and the Minister of
Niger Delta Affairs, respectively.
The party also slammed the
Senator Godswill Akpabio-led All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the
Senate for seeking to use diversionary press statements to suppress the demand
for an open investigation into the alleged improper insertion of N3.7 trillion
for non-existing projects in the 2024 budget.
“The PDP asserts that from the
incoherent, knee-jerk and dismissive statement issued by the APC leadership in
the Senate on Thursday, March 14, 2024, it is clear that it is jittery that an
open and detailed investigation into the allegation will further expose the
perpetrators and how money was allegedly shared among APC lawmakers,” the party
alleged.
It noted that the press statement
further confirmed the presence of an APC budget cabal in the Senate and that
the Senator Akpabio-led APC leadership is insensitive and does not care about
the welfare of the Nigerian people.
“It is highly provocative that at
this time when Nigerians are passing through severe economic hardship, the APC
leadership in the Senate is busy defending and frustrating investigation into
allegations of massive manipulation and looting of resources meant for the
wellbeing of the citizens,” the statement explained.
It said that the Akpabio-led APC
leadership in the Senate ought to know that no amount of threats, harassment,
suspension of whistleblowers and attempts to blackmail the opposition through
diversionary press statements and sponsored articles in a section of the media
can suppress the demand for an open investigation into the alleged budget
padding which is already in the public domain.
The statement explained that the
PDP and Nigerians are not deterred by attacks by the APC leadership in the
Senate, that is a clear case of corruption fighting back in the face of public
scrutiny.
More importantly, the statement
said that the failure by the Akpabio-led APC leadership to allow for an
investigation into the budget padding allegation constitutes a huge smear on
the image of the Senate and destroys its rectitude and integrity to perform its
constitutional duty to investigate and oversight other public institutions; a
situation that spells doom to our constitutional democracy if not immediately
checked.
If Senator Akpabio has nothing to
fear, the statement observed, he should immediately recall Senator Abdul Ningi
and allow for an open and detailed investigation into the allegation of
discrete insertion of N3.7 trillion into the 2024 budget.
The statement said, “Our Party,
standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigerians, insists that Senator Akpabio
should step aside and allow for a credible investigation, as he cannot be a
judge in this matter.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com