The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rapped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for picking the former Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, as its National Chairman.
The opposition party said that Ganduje was ethically challenged.
It said that the choice of Ganduje by the APC as its National Chairman, in spite of the stinking corruption and bribery allegations against him in the public domain, further confirmed that the APC was a cesspit of corruption and a haven for thieves, bribe takers and treasury looters.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba said that by appointing Ganduje, notoriously referred to as “Gandollar” by Nigerians over the infamous video of him barefacedly stuffing his gown (agbada) with US Dollar notes as bribe allegedly from a contractor, while serving as Governor of Kano State, further validated that the APC was a putrid party of embezzlers and charlatans.
The PDP further said that it also underscored APC’s impunity and insensitivity to the demands of honesty, integrity, and moral rectitude required of public officeholders.
It, therefore, urged Nigerians to note that only last month, a forensic analysis by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) confirmed that the content of the 2017 “Gandollar” viral video was not doctored.
The PDP further said; “It speaks volumes of the APC under Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Ganduje, who should ordinarily be under prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged bribery is rather crowned and rewarded with the position of the APC National Chairman.
“Such can only happen in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) like the APC which, according to the former Director General of Progressive Governors’ Forum, is replete with ‘political bandits’.”
The PDP described the assertion by Ganduje that he would “hit the ground running” to ensure the victory of “his fizzling Party and disillusioned” members in the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa as a pathetic day-dream.
It reminded Ganduje of how he was humiliated by Nigerians and failed woefully as Co-Chairman of APC National Campaign Council for the July 2022 Osun State Governorship election, which was overwhelmingly won by the PDP.
The PDP said; “Indeed, a worse crushing defeat awaits Ganduje and his Party, the APC, in the November 11, 2023 Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States.
“Moreover, the mortifying trouncing of the APC in Kano State under his watch as Governor in the 2023 general elections shows that Ganduje has no political value and cannot earn any victory in any electoral contest in the country.
“If Ganduje is desirous to ‘hit the ground running’ as he asserted, he should run to the EFCC for investigation and prosecution for cases of alleged bribery and corruption hanging around his neck.”
President Bola Tinubu has also come under intense criticism for nominating, Atiku Bagudu, the man who is believed to have helped late dictator Sani Abacha steal and launder billions of dollars belonging to Nigeria as minister.
Bagudu, 61, was a federal lawmaker before he served as governor of northwestern Kebbi State for eight years. He is a household name in the All Progressive Congress (APC) and a political ally of the president.
Both men were not always allies. In fact, at the time Bagudu was helping Abacha steal Nigeria dry, Tinubu was financing some political and civil society actors demanding the dictator’s exit. Tinubu had to go into exile due to fears the dictator wanted to kill or imprison him.
However, the formation of the APC in 2013 and its eventual electoral success in the 2015 general elections brought both men together, a relationship that was solidified when Tinubu sought the APC presidential ticket last year.
Bagudu had since 2003 admitted to financial irregularities when he agreed to return about $163 million to Nigeria to avoid extradition to Jersey from the US.
Since getting into the corridors of power in 2011 as a senator, Bagudu has remained active in politics. Last year, he played a major role in the APC’s selection of Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential elections. Bagudu was also a key player in Tinubu’s presidential campaign council.
While Messrs Tinubu and Bagudu’s political romance continues, the Nigerian government is still trying to recover some of the insane amounts of money that Abacha stole from Nigeria, most with the connivance of Bagudu.
The systematic plunder of Nigeria by the Abacha family with the help of Bagudu is reckoned to be one of the worst cases of kleptocracy and offshore shenanigans in the world.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that between 1998, when Abacha suddenly died, and 2020, 3.6 billion U.S. dollars have been recovered from the Abacha family and Bagudu, now a minister-designate.
The money-laundering operations Bagudu ran on behalf of Abacha are well-documented in suits filed in the United States and the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency in the Channel Islands.
The $23.5 million Abacha loot recovered last year by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) was forfeited by Mohammed Abacha and Mr Bagudu’s offshore company Mecosta Securities Inc.
While he was serving as governor of Kebbi state, the United States and Jersey authorities repatriated 308 million U.S. dollars stolen and laundered by Mr Bagudu, PREMIUM TIMES reported.
Similarly, the 163 million U.S. dollars recovered from Jersey in 2003 directly involved Bagudu, who then negotiated a deal with the US and Jersey to return the funds to Nigeria in exchange for Jersey’s withdrawal of an extradition request and his free return to Nigeria.
He spent six months in American federal prison in Houston while awaiting extradition to Jersey. The deal to return the $163 million was to avoid that extradition.
It was gathered that Mr Bagudu reached a settlement with the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 2003 to drop all outstanding civil and criminal claims against him, according to US court filings seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Bagudu was involved with the offshore front companies and bank accounts – from the British Virgin Islands to Ireland, Switzerland, England, Guernsey, and Jersey – used to steal and launder billions of dollars by the Abacha regime. He was either a director, signatory on accounts or prime beneficiary of such companies, according to US court documents and incorporation filings from the Pandora Papers leaks.
Credits: The Conclave/Premium Times
