Corruption, rights abuse: PDP challenges FG, APC to respond to US

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the federal government and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to urgently respond to the report by the United States government, on alleged corruption, impunity, gross violation of rights and killings under their watch. The party accused the government of President Muhammadu Buahri of being selective in its corruption fight noting that the government actually lacks the stomach to fight corruption holistically.
The party in a statement yesterday, through its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan noted that, “ this report by the US Department of State further vindicates our stand that the Buhari-led APC government is overtly and inherently corrupt, vengeful and has been engaging in smear campaign against the opposition to divert public attention from its atrocities.
“The US report directly indicted the APC-led Federal Government of official corruption, secretiveness, high-handedness, restriction of personal freedom and rights, executive influence on the judiciary, wanton arrests, detention and persecution of opposition as well as extra judicial and arbitrary killing of citizens by state controlled security forces.
“The report also directly discredited President Buhari’s fight against corruption as targeted against opposition members while government officials and APC members, openly indicted of corruption, especially those close to Mr. President, are not prosecuted. “From the report, the world can now see that the PDP has not been raising false alarm on the unbearable savagery and massive corruption of the APC administration, which has proven to be the worst in the history of our country.
“The world has now known why the APC-led Federal Government has been fixated at silencing opposition voices using the tyrannical instruments of intimidation, arrest, detention, trumped-up charges and media trial while emasculating free speech and press freedom in our country, all designed to hide their atrocities from the world. PDP insisted that, “Under President Buhari and the APC, our country is in great pain. Our constitution appears to have been technically suspended. Citizens now live in fear; bloodletting by marauders and extra judicial killings have become the order of the day; billions of naira meant for the rehabilitation of victims of insurgency are daily frittered by government officials while fundamental human rights have become essential commodities.
The party, therefore, challenged the Presidency and the APC “to end their arrogant disdain for the people and immediately respond to all allegations raised in the report. “These are weighty issues and they can no longer hide under the canopy of politics to dismiss them with a wave of the hand as they did in the past”, the PDP said.

 

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