The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday recalled that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, selected at the party’s notional convention in Abuja on Saturday has a pending case of N15 billion corruption allegation in court. The opposition PDP, therefore, questioned the quality of leadership the ruling APC is presenting to Nigerians.
The PDP in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Sunday disclosed that “Adamu had been arraigned in court on 149 counts of alleged fraudulent award of contracts and stealing of public funds estimated at N15 billion.”
The PDP, accordingly, declared: “It is clear that with the combination of the corrupt, deceitful and rudderless Buhari-led APC government and the illegitimate Abdullahi Adamu-led party leadership, corruption, economic hardship and rudderlessness in the APC government will worsen in our country in the remaining one year of the APC in government.”
The National Publicity Secretary was of the view that the emergent APC national leadership is a clear confirmation that President Buhari has never been committed to the fight against corruption, and also his willingness to further open the national vaults to ravenous treasury looters in the APC.
Ologunagba challenged the APC national leadership, particularly, Senator Adamu, to “come clean on corruption charges against them”.
The statement reads in part: “The new APC Chairman should inform Nigerians why he was not courageous enough to submit himself to trial at the Federal High Court, Lafia, Nasarawa State, rather than hide under technicalities. Senator Adamu should, therefore, come clean to Nigerians on the said case before parading himself as a saint.
“It is, therefore, pathetic to see Sen. Adamu showboating on stage to impress his puppet master by attempting to denigrate other Nigerians and our great Party, the PDP.
“Our party has only pity for Sen. Adamu and does not intend to confer him an undue relevance with a response. Sen. Adamu should, however, be conscious of the fact that time does not run against the state in criminal matters. He should, therefore, not have any illusion that being an APC Chairman will avail him a perpetual cover.
“Moreover, it was appalling to see APC leaders come out one after the other at their national jamboree to spew out lies and false performance claims on the economy, infrastructure and security even in the face of biting economic hardship, high cost of living, excruciating fuel emergency, lingering crisis in the education sector and escalated insecurity that was happening real time and simultaneously when the ridiculous claims of achievement were being made.
“Is it not shameful that while APC leaders were lying on stage in Abuja, terrorists were busy attacking the Kaduna International Airport, located in an APC controlled state.
“In any case, the PDP restates its cautions that the purported APC National Working Committee (NWC) does not have the legitimacy of office as the process that produced it under the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) remains unconstitutional and flawed.”