$1bn Terrorism Fund, Conduit For Looting, PDP Insists

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described moves by the Federal Government to use the sum of $1billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to tackle insurgency as means to mismanage public funds and to finance partisan activities.

Governors of the 36 states of the Federation had on Thursday, last week given the Federal Government approval to utilise $1billion from Nigeria’s excess crude account to tackle Boko Haram insurgency.

The PDP in a statement made available to Channels Television on Sunday insisted that the Federal Government must address the issue of the funds and not divert attention away from it.

READ ALSO: $1bn Terrorism Fund: Excess Crude Account Doesn’t Belong To FG, Says Gbajabiamila

“The attempt by the APC-led Federal Government to divert attention from the fraud, by resorting to unsubstantiated allegations against the PDP only reinforces its manipulative tendencies and arrogant spurn to the sensibilities of Nigerians,” PDP said in the statement.

The statement which was signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan also called on the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to substantiate his claims that the PDP was rebranding with stolen money.

“Such allegation was only intended to divert public attention from the heavy sleazes under the current administration, the latest being the moves to use the fight against terrorism as a conduit to syphon public funds for partisan purposes.

“The Federal Government has failed to address issues raised by the PDP and majority of Nigerians, including APC members, who cannot fathom how this administration would want to expend N365billion on fighting insurgents it claimed had been technically defeated,” Ologbondiyan said in the statement.

The PDP, therefore, said the Federal Government should rather be remorseful ad address publicly the criticism that has trailed the $1billion insurgency funds rather than engaging in allegations and blackmail of the PDP.