Being Address of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus at a media briefing on the state of the Nation at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata, House, Abuja. On July 24, 2020.
"Nigeria in a free fall, as corruption, insecurity engulfs the Nation"
Preamble.
Gentlemen of the press, I have had to call you again to discuss the frightening developments in our country.
As an opposition party, the PDP has screamed endlessly to high heavens but it's becoming very clear to all that the ears we are targeting are deaf as nothing on ground shows that there is a government in this country.
No attempt is being made from any corner to stem the freighting tide in our land.
No effort is being made from any angle to halt the on-going free fall being witnessed in all fronts in the country. Nigerians have become helpless and have come to accept and live like citizens of nations without leader and with no direction.Where do we start looking at the state of the nation when all segments of governance have collapsed.
Insecurity.
Nothing establishes the fact that there is no governance in the country more than the worsening state of insecurity. Having exhausted their propaganda of winning the war on terrorism only in their press releases, as reality endowed on all, both the military and political leaders are now helpless and confused.
What the Nigerian Senate did on Tuesday when it asked the service chiefs to resign was to show to the World that there is no executive arm of government in place.
Having few months back advised the executive to sack the service chiefs for having out lived their relevance and re-engineer the military for the emerging challenges, and having watched the security situation in the country grow from worse to worse, the legislators have limited option but to do what they did at least to show the people they represent that they are sensitive to their plights.
Not even during the three year brutal civil war did we witness as much as over 300 soldiers absconding their duties and pouring abuses on their commander. Only poor leadership from the military and the polity can drag down morale of soldiers to such pitable level. The Presidency rising immediately to challenge the Senate shows also the level of confusion in the system.
Corruption.
Since transparency International said few years ago that the worst corruption was going-on in Nigeria under this regime, the situation has continued to worsen.
It has now become a bazar with no pretense about it with all critical agencies of government including the anti-graft body themselves grossly engulfed in it.
The nation's economy is walking to depression because we are least in recession and it's being fast tracked by the widening scope of corruption involving operatives at the high places.
The free for all corruption going on all over the place leaves us with the impression that the country is dying and there has been a scramble for what one can get out of it before the final demise.
It's very disheartening that as the looting and the re-looting of the nation's resources are going on under the watch of the acclaimed anti-corruption President no serious reactions is coming from government that prides itself to be fighting corruption.
Rather than confront the already exposed corruption cases, the government deliberately takes cautious steps to play it down with a view to protecting their members who are neck deep in the growing sleaze.
"After providence decided to expose the massive fraud going on in the nation's anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the last five years, rather than bring it to the fore, the Presidency in the great cover up decided to take the investigation including the interrogation of suspects to Aso Rock Villa behind camera where all the exposed issues are kept away from the public glare.
We are aware that after the massive fraud exposition involving critical members of the administration, subtle moves are on behind the scene to free culprits and save the face of the government at the expense of the nation.
This has been the case since this administration came in 2015 disguising as an anti- corruption regime while in reality looting the country dry.
"After their double speak on fuel subsidy and prizing, they have recorded the highest amount of subsidy in the petroleum sector while running the show in utmost secrecy with the President presiding as both the President and the Petroleum Minister.
As we speak, the big corruption cover up is on-going in critical sectors, the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, the Maritime Sector, the Customs, the Federal inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Nigeria Social Insurance a Trust Fund, NSITF, North East Development Commission, NNPC crude Oil sale to China etc.
Nothing brings out the exact character of President Buhari's administration to corruption than the on-going free for for all fraud at the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, where the so called forensic auditors sent in by the President to unearth a fraud are themselves becoming visible accomplice to the crime. The Senate has already indicted the Interim Management Committee, IMC, and the supervising Minister Senator Godswill Akpabio. A commission set up to helping the suffering people of Niger Delta has become a bank for APC
members.
Fraud at a glance.
100mb crude oil sales to China by Sahara energy as reported over 2.5b dollars
Over N1.3 trillion spent between 2015 and 2019 with N4.923b of NDDC spent outside the budget.
NSITF N3.4b fraud
The growing fresh fuel Subsidy fraud
Unaccounted for N100b for North East commission.
Not to talk of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in the name of covid-19 palliatives
Fraudulent acquisition of banks, telecom companies amounting to billions of dollars by cabals in this administration.
Efcc blockage of N100b tax laundering petition involving a high profile person in APC
Conclusions.
Gentlemen of the press, the state of our nation today requires that all hands must be on deck especially you media practitioners who should not relent in holding public officers accountable.
Nigerians should not be distracted by the drama playing out at the various fraud case hearings whether in Aso Villa with Ibrahim Magu or at the National Assembly with two Ministers Akpabio and Chris Ngige, entertaining Nigerians, they are designs to remove public attention to the real issue.In this country under the watch of President Buhari and his APC, we have found ourselves in the environment as the French economist, Federico Bastiat said that "when plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it" This regime has found a code for corruption and they now glorify it and make fun of it.
Finally gentlemen of the press what we are witnessing in our country today is a total collapse of the nation, the country is on ventilator gasping for air, under such circumstance, President Buhari should do the honourable thing required of an elderstatesman in situations like this, THROW IN THE TOWEL because nigeria is on and save the country from ruins.
Thanks for your attention and God bless.
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