Publish Names Of Arrested Terrorists And Terrorism Sponsors, PDP Challenges FG

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has challenged the Federal Government, led by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to publish the names of those it claims to have arrested for terrorism, as well as those individuals and companies it claims are sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria.

The PDP was reacting to the scorecard of the Federal Government in the areas of corruption and the fight against terrorism as presented by the Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

Going through the Minister’s presentation, the PDP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, and dated February 3, 2022, dismissed all the claims as a tissue of brazen lies. The party, in a strongly-worded statement, said Minister Mohammed’s presentation was an assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians.

The PDP, instead, alleged APC’s complicity in the worsening security situation in the country, and accused Mohammed of trying to coceal it. Said the statement:

“…In the very pathetic attempt to conceal the apparent complicity of the APC in the advent and continuing insecurity in the country, the Minister of Information and Culture  laboured strenuously and claimed that the APC government has unconvered 96 sponsors of terrorism and arrested 45 persons confirmed to be terrorists.”

The statement dismissed the claim as a tissue of lies, challenged the FG to publish the names, and asked the APC to purge itself ” of a self-confessed terrorism apologist” in its midst.

On corruption, the PDP said the APC Government is steamed in it. It noted: “The APC administration is unsettled by the Transparency International (TI) Report which ranks Nigeria under President Buhari as the second most corrupt country in West Africa and 154 out of 180 in Global Corruption Index, given APC’s humongous corruption, including the exposed looting of over N16 trillion public funds by APC leaders and their cronies in government.”

Following is the full text of PDP’s response to FG’s scorecard as presented by Minister Lai Mohammed.

Scorecard: APC Administration, A Government of Lying, by Liars and for Liars

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration as a government of shameless liars and barefaced thieves, who have pawned their souls to the devil.

“The PDP’s position is predicated on the desperate attempt by the Buhari administration to whitewash itself by sending the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, whose stock-in-trade is well known to again assault the sensibilities of Nigerians with litany of fake claims on anti-corruption and anti-terrorism fight when in reality the Buhari administration is sinking deeper into the abyss of failure on these planks.

“The APC administration is unsettled by the Transparency International (TI) Report which ranks Nigeria under President Buhari as the second most corrupt country in West Africa and 154 out of 180 in Global Corruption Index, given APC’s humongous corruption including the exposed looting of over N16 trillion public funds by APC leaders and their cronies in government.

“In its ludicrous anti-corruption scorecard, the APC government has no response to the reported looting of $25 billion under its watch as detailed in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) leaked memo under its watch.

“The APC government should give answers to the reported stealing of N165 billion in the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), the N1.5 trillion and $9.5 million reportedly stolen from Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the $65 million frittered from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) as well as the N90 billion reportedly looted from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

“This is in addition to the reported looting of N33 billion from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the reported stealing of over N18 billion from the rehabilitation of IDPs in the North East, the over N25 billion from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as well as the looting of N500 billon Social Investment Programme Fund as revealed by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari among others.

“Furthermore, in the very pathetic attempt to conceal the apparent complicity of the APC in the advent and continuing insecurity in the country, the Minister of Information and Culture laboured strenuously and claimed that the APC government has uncovered 96 sponsors of terrorism and arrested 45 persons confirmed to be terrorists.

“This is laughable because Nigerians know that the APC administration habours within its rank a self-confessed terrorism apologist, Dr. Isa Pantami, who superintend over the very critical Ministry of Communication and its agencies which are very vital in any meaningful fight against terrorism.

“Nigerians ask, if the APC cannot purge itself of a self-confessed terrorism apologist, how can it claim to have effectively confronted terrorism in the country? The PDP restates its demand to the APC to publish the names and details of those it claims to be sponsors of terrorism and those it claims to have been arrested.

“Nigerians have decoded the lying propensity of the APC and can no longer be hoodwinked. Like everything in life, the lies and propaganda of the APC at every election cycle has expiry date and as such the APC should expect the inevitable crushing verdict of the people in the 2023 elections.”