‘Buhari will not resign’, Presidency tell PDP

*** says main opposition party gripped by undemoractic pandemic

The presidency on Friday evening pointedly told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that President Muhammadu Buhari will not resign from office.

The PDP had earlier asked the president to resign over cases of alleged corruption in federal government agencies.

The party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, told reporters in Abuja that ongoing corruption investigations of the NDDC, NEDC, NSITF, EFCC and others were clear indications that the country under Buhari’s watch, was on ventilator gasping for breath.

Secondus said corruption has become a way of life for Nigerians while Buhari plays the ostrich. He accused the president of abandoning his promise to fight corruption during 2015 and 2019 electioneering campaigns.

Describing developments in the country as frightening, Secondus said nothing brings out the exact character of the administration than the on-going fraud at the NDDC, while accusing the forensic audit team meant to unearth alleged fraud at the NDDC of becoming accomplice to the crime, citing Senate indictment of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Commission.

In a swift reaction however, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari was determined to continue the fight against corruption.

In a statement titled “PDP gripped by undemoractic pandemic” which he made available to journalists, Shehu accused the PDP of promoting what he called undemocratic values at a time the world is united in fighting a common enemy.

“At a time when the whole world is unifying to confront a common enemy, Nigeria’s opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has launched a whirlwind campaign promoting undemocratic values, the latest manifestation of which is the call for President Muhammadu Buhari’s resignation for allowing audits and investigation into several agencies of government, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

“Based on the statement issued by the embattled chairman of the Party, Prince Uche Secondus, it is clear that they would have liked the President to not investigate but to cover things up: to not wake the sleeping lion as voiced by another of their leaders

“In a democracy, an opposition party is as critical to the system as the ruling party but in the case of Nigeria, the leading party in opposition is afflicted by a life-threatening sickness, the undemocratic pandemic as a result of which they are trading away the nation’s democratic values.

“The PDP government which exited the stage five years ago through a democratic election by voters dissatisfied with corruption on an industrial scale, policy paralysis, obsolete and decaying essential infrastructure appears to have forgotten the reason for their stunning defeat and seem hell-bent on the fooling the nation, yet again for another ride to power.

“President Buhari will not resign. He is determined to continue the crusade against corruption, both legacy and recently unearthed cases, that are found to be shabbily handled, and in some cases unattended to by past administrations. The National Assembly, by virtue of its right to conduct its oversight function is currently carrying out own investigations. Additionally, the security and intelligence agencies are equally doing their part and must be given the time and space to conclude their work and present their reports

“The PDP cannot scare the government from probing the grave allegations made against MDAs and their chiefs because, failure to do so will amount to a historic betrayal of public trust.

“The PDP cannot subject Nigeria’s democracy to subterranean attacks and continue to pretend that they are well-meaning.”