- APC describes call as distraction
The Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday came out smoking against President Muhammadu Buhari whom it accused of constitutional breaches,especially the submission of two versions of the 2016 Budget. .
The party, therefore wants the National Assembly to commence an impeachment process against the president, with immediate effect.
The discovery of two versions of the 2016 budget had earlier a national outcry forcing the leadership oof the Senate to set up an investigative panel, which came out on Thursday with a report that pinpointed Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang as behind act.
PDP National Working Committee rose from it meeting on Thursday charging the National Assembly to commence the impeachment of Buhari.
But the ruling All Progressives Congress dismissed PDP’s call as a distraction to the National Assembly an attmpt to divert attention from the probe of monumental corruption that happended in Nigeria under PDP’s watch.
PDP said the National Assembly should thoroughly investigate the shameful act, including the distortion and banding of figures to accommodate their personal interests and ensure that appropriate sanctions are meted to whoever has a hand in the dubious action that has brought embarrassment to the legislative body.
According to the party, ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning should resign having failed to provide the much needed capacity in the management of the nation’s economy resulting in the embarrassing crashing of the nation’s currency to as low as N305 to a dollar.
The PDP also wants Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria to resign for plunging the country’s currency policy into chaos, an action that thrown investors into total confusion. Incidentally, Emefiele was appointed by Goodluck Jonathan, a PDP president.
The now opposition party admonished the government to stop pretending that it knows what to do when feelers from the seat of power shows clearly that Nigerians by voting for the All Progressives Congress have just discovered they boarded a once chance bus. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the national assembly to “commence the impeachment of President Muhammedu Buhari for the various constitutional breaches, especially the submission of two versions of the 2016 budget”.
It urged the national assembly to “thoroughly investigate the shameful act, including the distortion and banding of figures to accommodate their personal interest and ensure that appropriate sanctions is meted to whoever has a hand in the dubious action that has brought embarrassment to the legislative body”.
It also asked the ministers of finance, budget and national planning to resign, “having failed to provide the much needed capacity in the management of the nation’s economy resulting in the embarrassing crashing of the nation’s currency to as low as N305 to a dollar”. The PDP asked the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resign for plunging the country’s currency policy into chaos, an action it said had thrown investors into total confusion. The party admonished the government “to stop pretending that it knows what to do when feelers from the seat of power show clearly that Nigerians by voting for APC have just discovered they boarded a once chance bus”.
“We sympathise with Nigerians who are seriously undergoing terrible hardship because of the now obvious inept leadership of APC despite the promise of one naira to a dollar,” it said in the statement. “What hope can a government that allows its currency to break a 43-year-old record crashing to over N300 to one dollar offer and yet does not show it has clear focus of what to do?” The party said that APC government, rather than address grievous national issues created by its lack of capacity to govern, resorted to violation of people’s rights in the name of fighting corruption. It observed that “the continued detention of its spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, for nearly 10 days in clear breach of his fundamental human rights and reiterates its earlier call on the anti graft body to release him unconditionally with immediate effect”.
The PDP called on “all lovers of democracy especially the international community to note the fact that rule of law and respect for citizens’ rights, essential ingredients of civil liberty have taken flight in Nigeria under Buhari’s watch”.
APC in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mai Mala Buni, said in part, “The APC wishes to remind the PDP that Nigeria is not a Banana Republic, but a country governed by laws.
“It is confusing and worrisome that the PDP calls for an investigation into the budget issue and at the same time calls for the removal and resignation of the aforementioned.
“In both content and context, PDP’s statement constitutes a distraction to the National Assembly.
“The APC is confident that the 8th National Assembly will not be distracted by the PDP in its new desperate plot to divert attention from the ongoing investigation into mind-boggling cases of corruption perpetuated under its defunct 16-year rule.
“Nigerians are still shocked and recovering from the wanton looting perpetuated in the last 16 years under the PDP. We invite the PDP to supports current efforts aimed at social, economic and institutional reforms.”
