The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says Aisha Buhari, wife of the President Muhamadu Buhari, has vindicated its position that the current administration is a “citadel of corruption”.
Reacting to the criticism of N500 billion social investment programmes (SIP) of the federal government by the Buhari’s wife, the opposition party asked anti-graft agencies to swing into action.
The president’s wife had said the SIP failed in the north, accusing Maryam Uwais, special adviser to the president on social investment, of incompetence.
“I was expecting that N500 billion to be utilised in different methods in the north for the aim to be achieved. I don’t know the method they used but most of the northern states did not get it,” she had said.
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“Maybe it worked in some states. In my own state, only a local government benefited out of the 22 LGAs. I didn’t ask what happened and I don’t want to know but I can say it failed woefully in Kano.”
In a statement, Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the PDP, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to speak on the allegation and take needed action.
“More disheartening is the fact that the said funds were meant for the welfare of the poor, whom Mr President had always claimed to represent in government.” he said.
“Unfortunately, these poor Nigerians have been waiting endlessly for the failed social investments promised by President Buhari only to have their hopes dashed as revelations by Mrs Buhari had shown that the money provided for the programme had been stolen.
“The PDP holds that now that the truth has been revealed by no lesser Nigerian than Mr President’s wife, the National Assembly and all anti-corruption agencies should immediately commence forensic investigation how into these funds were dispensed and utilized.”
Ologbondiyan accused Buhari of using “poor Nigerians to fritter away billions of naira.”
He added that the president’s wife has shown that the PDP has not been crying wolf by insisting that Buhari “must account for the trillions of naira stolen under his watch in the last four years”.
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“Nigerians can now see how the same administration presided over by ‘Mr. Integrity’ has been using the names of innocent poor Nigerians to loot our national treasury and fritter away billions of Naira to finance their wasteful lifestyle while Nigerians wallow in abject poverty,” he said.
“It is indeed appalling that the Buhari administration would be sitting on such colossal corruption and continues to thrive in evil concealment while diverting public attention from their rot by hounding innocent opposition figures on trump-up corruption charges.
“The PDP had always maintained that no matter how much deceit and falsehood appears to thrive, the truth must prevail at the end of the day.
“Our party therefore charges President Buhari to speak out on the matter and immediately commence the process of recovering the money and channelling it for the benefit of the poor Nigerians.”