$1bn arms fund: Commence action against Buhari now, PDP charges NASS

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tasked the National Assembly to commence appropriate constitutional legislative actions against President Muhammadu Buhari for gross misconduct following what it called his unilateral approval of the sum of $1 billion from the national coffers to fight insurgency.
The party also called on Nigerians to reject and resist the renewed attempt by the Presidency to help itself with the huge sums of money, adding that the $1 billion is meant to finance President Buhari’s interests in the All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention and 2019 Presidential campaign.

In a statement by its image maker, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Thursday, the PDP said its investigation revealed that the Presidency deliberately avoided the National Assembly so as to avoid legislative scrutiny and accountability, thus paving way for the diversion of the fund “for selfish partisan purposes.”

The statement read: “It is a notorious fact that the Presidency and the APC have been plotting to loot this $I billion from our heavily depleted Excess Crude Account (ECA) since last year, using the guise of fight against insurgency.

“This is the same Buhari administration that has been boasting of having technically defeated the insurgents. This is also an administration that is not known to have exhausted subsisting budgetary allocations for defense.

“Nigerians are thoroughly disappointed that President Buhari; the same African Union (AU) ‘anti-corruption champion’, who swore to be above board and to protect the constitution and our laws, will allow himself to fall for the temptation of resorting to ways and means which are totally at variance with the laws and all democratic tenets.

“Democracy thrives on constitutional processes of separation of powers, due diligence and transparency and not on totalitarian tendencies.

“We urge the National Assembly to look into the constitution and impose appropriate legislative instruments against Mr. President, if any part of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) has been breached by this unilateral decision.”

The party also faulted government’s efforts at taming insurgency, saying there is more to it than the public is being to believe.

“It has since come to light that the Buhari administration is using the fight against insurgency as a conduit to siphon funds, as evidenced in the alleged looting of the N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)funds,” it added.

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