THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said it would not protect any of its members found culpable in the allegations of corruption against Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, and officials of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said to have bought two armoured vehicles for N225 million.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the position of the party on corruption has been demonstrated when it refused to protect its former leaders who were accused of corruption in the past.
“The position of our great party on corruption is unambiguous and our zero tolerance for corrupt practices abounds in practical examples because our founding fathers placed utmost premium on transparent and accountable government as a fulcrum for achieving a Nigeria of our dream. Our successive leaders since 1999 have resolutely stuck to this.
“It is common knowledge that at one time or the other, some members of the top leadership of our party or their relatives faced charges of corruption and never was the law restrained from taking its full course. To us as a party, the accusation of corruption in the Aviation Ministry is a big worry. It is for this reason that the President and the leader of our party have set up a panel to investigate the matter while the National Assembly which we also lead has stepped in. We commend the President and the National Assembly for doing what is appropriate in the circumstance.
“It is a fundamental rule of due process and fairness that these investigations be allowed a full course so that those at the centre of the saga would be availed an opportunity to offer their own side and avoid a case of conviction before trial. We, however, wish to assure Nigerians that whoever is found culpable shall reap in full, the bitter consequences of corruption and disservice to our dear nation.
“If otherwise established, the aviation officials should not be intimidated but remain focused in the outstanding transformation that Nigerians have witnessed in the sector.”
The PDP frowned at what it called the ethnic dimension which comments and street actions on the issue have taken, cautioning those it described as tribal lords and lynch mobs on the two divides that “such biased sentiments could hardly achieve an objective basis for establishing the culpability of the public officers involved in the matter.”
“These public trial in which the accused stands no chance of defence is antithetical to democracy as it is capable of railroading appropriate investigation into an unjust conclusion . We, therefore, wish the various ethnic lords, jingoists as well as lynch mobs who have found occupation in sensational, subjective and anti-national comments and protests to take their exit and allow the appropriate institutions of authority to dispassionately handle the matter.”
The PDP also criticised the opposition APC for its stand on corruption, saying the party is not different from a whitewashed tomb.
It stated: “The APC is a stinking sepulcher. The party is the headquarters of corruption in Nigeria. This is a party whose leaders relish in stinking miasma but artfully turning blind eyes to it. They however go megaphonic when other political parties are involved. Hardly can you point at any of its leaders without a heavy baggage. In fact, the governors and leaders of the APC have been involved in bullet proof car deals more scandalous than that at the aviation ministry but this is conspicuously missing on the sermon list of these false evangelists of good governance.”
“The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly is still standing trial for acts of corruption, yet it is not discussed. In Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Edo and Osun, bridges and road contacts are outrageously inflated and the masses daily pauperised with the APC conniving in silence. The case of the brazen privatisation of Lagos under Tinubu which has continued till now is a trite knowledge, yet the APC sees no corruption in it at all. ”
Source: Guardian
