The Federal Government yesterday released names of some officials of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who it alleged looted the country’s treasury when the party was in power.
In an apparent response to a poser by the PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, who responded to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s remark that the PDP administration carried out massive looting of the treasury in the 16 years it was in power, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, told newsmen in Lagos that PDP looted the treasury dry.
But the Information Minister said yesterday that the opposition party was only grandstanding to claim that its members did not loot the treasury. He named prominent members of the PDP who have corruption cases to answer, including the National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, whom he said took N200m from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on February 19, 2015.
Mohammed added that the then PDP National Financial Secretary also on October 24, 2014 took N600 million from the same ONSA. Other PDP figures listed by the minister include the then National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisah Metuh, who is on trial for allegedly collecting N1.4bn from the office of then NSA and chairman of DAAR Communications, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, who is on trial for allegedly taking N2.1bn also from ONSA.
Mohammed also listed the former Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan, Dudafa Waripamo-Owei, who is on trial over N830 million kept in the accounts of four companies and cousin of former president Goodluck Jonathan, Robert Azibaola, who is also said to be on trial for allegedly collecting $40 million from the then ONSA.
The minister added: “This list is just a tip of the iceberg, and the PDP is aware of this. We did not make these cases up. Many of these cases are in court and the records are available. Some of the people on this list are seeking plea bargain, and that is a fact. We insist that Nigeria was looted blind under the watch of the PDP, and that the starting point in tendering an apology is for them to return the loot.”
“It’s like a robber admitting to stealing your car and apologizing, but then saying he will keep the car anyway. It doesn’t work that way,” the minister said.
