The recent summon of the immediate past Akwa Ibom governor by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over a petition alleging the stealing of N108 billion state fund, the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party On Sunday, October 18, reprimanded the president Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for hounding the ex-governor.
Akpabio
According to Leadership, the party declared that the travails of the former governor Senator Godswill Akpabio was part of the plot by the current administration to weaken the legislature and by extension the opposition ahead of 2019.
The statement was made by the national publicity secretary of the party, Olisah Metuh.
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Akpabio was reportedly quizzed by the anti-graft commission on Friday, October 18, but was later released for another questioning the following day.
Reports also disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had recently raided Akpabio’s residence in Akwa Ibom state government house.
Metuh did not hesitate to also censure President Buhari over what he called an absolute dictatorship on the part of the president.
The party scribe said: “On the issue of Senator Godswill Akpabio, we invite Nigerians to note that in the three rich states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Lagos states, there were petitions against their former governors.
“Whereas the former All Progressives Congress governors of Lagos and Rivers were rewarded with ministerial nominations, their Akwa Ibom PDP counterpart and the current Senate minority leader is being hounded by the EFCC.
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“This is in spite of the common knowledge that Akwa Ibom under Senator Akpabio is arguably the least indebted state in Nigeria, and where the governor appropriately applied available resources to effectively transform the state.
“We challenge the APC to show Nigerians any of their governors that matched the feats achieved in Akwa-Ibom under Senator Akpabio whose only building in Uyo is uncompleted and being built with verifiable bank loans.
“The PDP therefore states categorically that the orchestrated investigation of Senator Akpabio is politically motivated and targeted at weakening the PDP for 2019 elections, by virtue of his being the face of opposition in the National Assembly.
The PDP spokesman noted that it was also part of the fight by the presidency to weaken the legislature as an arm of government and prevent it from effectively carrying out its constitutional role of checks and balances in a democracy.
He said: “As we speak, no APC member, despite the public petitions of corruption and squandering of state funds, has been invited or questioned by the EFCC. We challenge the EFCC, as an anti-corruption agency, to show Nigerians any member of the APC it has so far questioned, not to talk of being arrested since the emergence of this administration, despite petitions against them.
“Recall that even the case of former Adamawa state Governor Murtala Nyako started before the advent of the current administration but is now reportedly being worked on ostensibly to extricate APC members involved.”
Metuh stressed that the former ruling party is not averse to the anti-corruption crusade of the current administration
He added that the APC and its government have been busy denigrating the PDP.
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He said that the ruling party are also appropriating their achievements while at the same time blackmailing, hounding and harassing the PDP elected members with the aim to cow and force them to defect from the major opposition party to the APC.
The party said: “We have verifiable reports from our key members that agents of the APC have been approaching them to join the APC with threats to use the EFCC to victimize them should they refuse.
“The APC and its agents have been boasting that they have the powers to deal with or spare any person, depending on the party such person belongs to.
“This clearly explains why the so-called fight against corruption has been selective and focused against PDP members, despite counsels by stakeholders that it should be holistic and in accordance with the due process of the law.”
He said: “The issue is that if the agency actually found anything in Akwa Ibom there will be euphoria. It would be dramatized. If they have found anything we challenge them to produce it. As long as they don’t do that they are fishing for information that they will never get.”
The party reiterated its support for the Senate minority leader over his achievements in the state.
In line with the probe of the former governor by the EFCC, there are indications that some top officials of the state government and would be arrested for questioning alongside officials of banks allegedly used for illegal deals by Akpabio.
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