TheCable

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) to redirect its invective on former President Goodluck Jonathan at President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration.

The party was reacting to a statement by the APC that the former president should not have denied the allegation that he rejected the British government’s proposal to help rescue some of the kidnapped Chibok girls.

In his book entitled: ‘For the Record’, David Cameron, former UK prime minister, accused Jonathan of not allowing the British government rescue some of the Chibok girls, who were kidnapped on April 14, 2014.

The APC had said Jonathan ought to “take responsibility for his negligence” rather than apportion blame.

But in a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP spokesman, the party said the attacks on the ex-president was a tactic by the Buhari-led administration to divert attention from recent corruption and fraud revelations in which “close relatives and confidants of Mr. President are mentioned”.

The party said all the bad eggs that brought disrepute to the PDP have since left its “repositioned party” to the APC, which it said is a haven for corrupt persons.

“The PDP has been made aware of how the Presidency has been in a frenzy to suppress investigations and deflect public enquiries from the arrest of President Buhari’s known confidant deported from the United Kingdom for alleged international passport scam and money laundering, as it knows that an inquest will further expose the huge rot in the Buhari Presidency,” the statement said.

“Our party has equally been made aware of how the APC and the Buhari Presidency have been desperate to divert public attention from the administration’s obnoxious decision to further oppress Nigerians by reintroducing tollgates on our highway, increasing Value Added Tax (VAT), electricity bill and other tariffs as well as their despicable plot to sack government workers.

“The PDP charges the APC and the Buhari Presidency to perish the idea of thinking that this unnecessary distortion on the Jonathan administration would bury the demand for an inquest into the Danu racket through which billions of naira meant for the wellbeing of Nigerians are allegedly being diverted to private purses.

“The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the APC had remained silent since revelations that its key leaders and the cabal at the Presidency are involved in the stealing of over N14 trillion meant for the wellbeing of Nigerians.

“Our party further challenges the APC and the Buhari Presidency to speak out on the alleged diversion of the N500bn meant for the Social Investment Programme among other humongous fraud directly perpetrated under the Buhari Presidency.”

The PDP also said the APC should not think that it “can cover its mess” by trying to make unfounded allegations against Jonathan and the PDP “as Nigerians can now see through their shenanigans”.