N48b Agric Fraud: APC Has Turned MDAs Into ATMs

By GWG Staff

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Wednesday said the revelation of a N48 billion fraud in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as a demonstration of what it described as the monstrous corruption, sleaze and cover-ups going on in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The party said the confession by the queried former Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Umar Bello, that the purchase of an ordinary carcass building for a humongous cost of N7.044 billion passed through the Federal Executive Council (FEC) further exposes the rot that has permeated the Buhari administration.

“Nigerians were shocked by reports of how funds meant to service the food security system in our country is being plundered by those in power, resulting in the crippling of our agricultural sector thereby creating attendant hunger and starvation in our land,” the PDP said in a statement issued by its spokesman, Kola Olgobondinyan.

“The PDP described as shameful that the FEC, under President Buhari’s watch, is being fingered in financial manipulations and procurement sleazes in the Agric ministry including the alleged disappearance of N48 billion contractors’ fund, over N7billion duplicated payments, diversion of N9.1billion worth of drilling rigs to unnamed private individuals, purchase of carcass building for N7.044 billion, in addition to misapplication of billions of naira meant for strategic grains, rural grazing area settlement funds and other food production intervention schemes.

“The fraud in the Ministry of Agriculture has further exposed how officials of the Buhari administration and corrupt APC leaders have turned government ministries and agencies into their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) just as the case of exposed looting of billions of naira in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) among others.

“It is even more distressing that the corrupt cabal continues to enjoy official cover while, in some cases, allowed to sacrifice their fronts to conceal their tracks.”

“The PDP therefore rejects this attempt at cheap scapegoatism and demands that the Buhari Presidency should immediately speak out and conduct an open investigation that will expose all those involved in this huge scam in the Ministry of Agriculture as well as recover the stolen funds.”

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