The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised alarm accusing the kitchen cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressive Congress (APC) for diverting $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) fund.
Mr, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP National Publicity Secretary made this claim on Sunday saying the close lieutenants to the President are hiding under the guise of security to perpetrate this act.
Ologbondiyan demand that the presidency should tell Nigerians the whereabouts’ of the said money.
According to him, it was appalling the confession attributed to the National Security Adviser (NSA) Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd). That he was not aware how the $1 billion withdrawn by the government of President Buhari from the ECA in 2017 for security purpose was disbursed.
He continued that, the office of the NSA who is in charge of coordinating security affairs of the federation to make such a shocking statement has cast doubt on the integrity of the Buhari administration. Meanwhile, the insurgents have continued to maim Nigerians in varying dimension as kidnapping and banditry under their supervision.
He added, that this has confirmed their stance that the APC and the presidency have withdrawn the said amount for 2019 campaign to the detriment of Nigerians and its troops at the war front.
However, the Presidency in its reaction described the allegation as “rubbish” saying the PDP was still suffering from a socio-emotional distress.
In a statement by the Special Assistance to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency noted that the PDP thought “all governments in the world run on the basis of free-wheeling looting as they did their (PDP’s government) own.”
He added, “It is on record that the Buhari administration paid about $490m for a dozen Super Tucano fighter aircraft in a direct, government-to-government (no contractors or commission agents) transaction with the government of the United States.
“Other military procurement has been made. Balance of expenditure stands at about $880m.”
The Presidency alleged that since the PDP is guilty of the same offense of spending defense procurement funds on the 2015 general elections, their thinking was that the APC and Buhari government did the same in 2019.
