‘You should be ashamed,’ Minister tells Ekweremadu, PDP

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to show some remorse over its destruction of the nation’s economy and stop blaming President Muhammadu Buhari who’s trying to repair the damage.

Mohammed made the comments after Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu criticized Buhari and said that Nigerians would beg the PDP to return to power in 2019.

The minister’s remarks were contained in a statement released on Sunday, December 13, 2015.

It reads:

“If there was still any honour left among thieves, there is no way the leaders of a party under whose watch the nation’s economy suffered a monumental mismanagement and the Central Bank was turned to the ATM or piggy bank of a few people will have the temerity to insult a government that is working hard to turn things around or the citizens who are bearing the brunt of such mismanagement.”

“It is now clear to all Nigerians that if the PDP had won the last general elections, Nigeria’s economy would not have survived one more month, considering the battering it received under the immediate past Administration. It is therefore unconscionable that those who should show contrition and hunker down to avoid public opprobrium are the same ones pointing an accusing finger at the Buhari Administration.”

“Senator Ekweremadu complained about the depreciation of the Naira without telling Nigerians who ‘dollarized’ the Nigerian economy by bribing many individuals and groups with dollars during the last elections, thus inflicting a knock-out punch on the local currency. He also failed to tell Nigerians which government presided over the frenzied mop-up of dollars, either for ‘armsgate’ or for slush fund purposes, from the CBN to a point where it almost ran out of the hard currency.”

“The outcome of the months of hard work will manifest soon in the 2016 national budget that will give succour to millions of Nigerians who are reeling from fallout of the solecism of the immediate past Administration that turned the country into a cash bazaar.”

“They looted the billions of Naira that were allocated for the fight against insurgency, causing many innocent and patriotic soldiers to die needlessly, yet they are not remorseful. They looted the treasury to influence the last elections, doling out money as if it was going out of fashion, yet they continue to grandstand.”

The PDP and the administration of former president, Goodluck Jonathan have come under fire over allegations of massive looting by its officials.

Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki is at the fore of the investigations and is alleged to have supervised the alleged laundering of $2 billion in funds meant for the procurement of arms for Nigeria's military.

He was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 1, 2015 and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the day after.

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The former NSA is reported to have implicated several prominent persons in the deal including former governors, ex-ministers and members of Jonathan’s party, Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

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Dasuki’s lawyer however denied the report that his client had become an informant.

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Jonathan has also denied authorizing the release of the stated funds despite the former NSA’s claim that he got the necessary presidential approval for the transactions.

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