PDP knocks Sagay for concealing ‘official corruption’ in presidency

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has knocked the chairman of
the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC),
Prof Itse Sagay for allegedly concealing official corruption in the
administration from President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement Friday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola
Ologbondiyan, the party said Prof Sagay, at his age and status,
ought to be bold enough to tell President Buhari that corruption
resides in the Presidential Villa and that a President who
surrounds himself with corrupt persons as ministers, special
advisers and confidants cannot fight corruption.

The PDP tasked Sagay to clear his conscience by using his
position to ask President Buhari to answer Nigerians on the alleged
siphoning of N9 trillion oil money through alleged shady contracts,
under his watch, as detailed in the leaked NNPC memo.

The party further said that the PACAC chairman could take a
face-saving measure by demanding an investigation into the alleged
corruption in the handling of the N1.4 trillion oil subsidy
involving the “cabal” in the Presidency and certain All
Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, in addition to the reported
“stealing” of over N1.1 trillion worth of crude under the
President’s watch.

The statement said, “It is strange to many Nigerians that Prof.
Sagay, as the Chairman of the anti-corruption committee, could not
summon the boldness to ask President Buhari to order an
investigation into allegations by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari,
that the N500bn meant for Social Investment Program
was diverted to private purses.

“Furthermore, Prof. Sagay and President Buhari had been mute
over the recent arrest of President Buhari’s confidant, Nasir Banu
in the United Kingdom for alleged passport scam and money
laundering, while allegedly ferrying stolen money to persons said
to be close to the Buhari Presidency.

“Also, Prof. Sagay is yet to speak out on the recent arrest of a
scammer, Abdulrauf Illyasu, who operates from within the
Presidential Villa, and never said anything about the arrest of
former aide to the First Lady as well as one Amina Mohammed, who
openly confessed fronting for persons close to the President for
serial fraud, contract scams and looting of public resources.

“These and many more are corruption issues, which fall directly
on the shoulders of the Buhari Presidency for which Nigerians
expected Prof. Sagay and his committee to address.

“Prof. Sagay should therefore leave the former President of the
Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki and then House of Representatives
Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara, alone and accept the fact that the
Buhari Presidency cannot fight corruption because it swims in ocean
of corruption.

“If anything, Nigerians are still aware of how the 8th National
Assembly exposed corruption in the Buhari administration including
issues of budget padding, alleged diversion of funds meant for the
Internally Displaced Persons and stealing in revenue generating
agencies”.

The main opposition party also asked that President Muhammadu
Buhari leave the Eighth National Assembly out of his “failure to
tame his fraudulent officials and curb the humongous corruption
festering in his Presidency”.

Sagay had, during presentation of a report to the President on
Thursday, said the government had recovered over N1 trillion from
treasury looters in the last four years.