The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of corruption over the fuel subsidy regime of his government.
The PDP also Challenged President Buhari to submit himself for an independent inquest into his government’s handling of the 1.4 trillion Naira oil subsidy regime as well as the alleged complicity of the Presidency in many of the exposed financial impropriety by cronies of his government, especially agencies involved in revenue collection.
The party maintained that such inquest which has already been backed by state governors across the country will expose the mountain-level corruption in Buhari’s government. The PDP added that it will also show the world that the African Union Anti-Corruption champion is not spotless.
In statement issued by the national publicly secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday, the party said: “We invite Nigerians to note that the demand by governors to probe all subsidy deals since 2015 is a direct indictment on President Buhari as the Minister of Petroleum, particularly, following allegations that the stolen funds are being warehoused to fund his 2019 re-election bid and the opulent lifestyle in the Presidential Villa.
“The party notes that if President Buhari allowed the inquest, it will reveal how our president, who had queried the genuineness of the oil subsidy payments by PDP administration and described the process as a fraud, had secretly engaged in underhand oil subsidy deals.
“Nigerians will also understand how the cost of fuel geometrically rose from the PDP subsidized cost of N87 to N145, representing a criminal N58 tax, per liter of fuel.
” Nigerians recall that it took over two years of secret oil subsidy deals under President Buhari, before it was exposed last December.
“Since then, the Presidency and the NNPC have been seeking ways to cover the fraud which include claims that local consumption suddenly jumped from 28 million liters per day to 60 liters per day.
” PDP considers this as a fabrication to retire the billions being stolen as subsidy, even when statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics and the reality of the retarded purchasing power of citizens, under the prevailing economic recession, do not validate such claims.
“Nigerian therefore deserve to know who authorised the payments and the identity of the beneficiary companies, if any.
” The PDP is happy that state governors across board and the National Assembly are on the same page with our party in condemning the humongous fraud going on under President Buhari’s fuel subsidy.
” The PDP therefore demands that the inquest covers the alleged the N15 billion stolen from the NHIS, the N18 billion stolen from the PINE initiative, the alleged leaked memo of N9 trillion corrupt oil contracts at the NNPC, the reported diversion of N1.1trillion worth of crude last year and why indicted Presidential cronies and fronts have not been prosecuted”
