The All Progressives Congress
(APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently address
Nigerians on the serial embarrassments to which his administration is
subjecting the country in the comity of nations, after another seizure of $5.7
million of Nigerian arms money by the South African authorities.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by
its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the
issues surrounding the first seizure of $9.3 million have yet to be resolved
before this latest scandal, wondering why the government would want to turn
Nigeria to a rogue nation by taking ownership of money laundering and other
acts of illegality, thus devaluing the currency of every Nigerian.
“Again, Mr. President, Nigerians are
urging you to please come clean over these cash-for-arms scandals. They want
you to answer critical questions on the legality of your administration’s
repeated conduct.
Nigerians want to know the
identities of the two Nigerians who were arrested with an Israeli in South
Africa over the first illegal deal, especially since the Israeli has been
named.
“Nigerians want to why the purported
arms procurement for the government is done illegally between private companies
that are neither known nor registered for dealing in arms?
And why are the movement of monies
not transparently documented for what they really are, if they are truly for
legitimate purposes?
“They want to know whether indeed
the weapons which the government is seeking so furiously to procure are for the
battle against Boko Haram or for a sinister motive, considering the desperation
of your Administration to continue to rule at all cost and by any means
possible.
They want to know whether every
Nigerian should begin to fear what will happen in the days and weeks leading to
the forthcoming general elections, against the backdrop of your Administration
and party’s do-or-die politics.
“Mr. President, if the funds
involved in the latest seizure were sent through bank transfer, can the
government explain why Oritsejafor’s plane was stuffed with cash and
transported to South Africa?
Can your Administration’s
embarrassing explanation that it is customary for other country’s security
agencies, including with MOSSAD, KGB and CIA, to cart plane loads of cash
across the world to purchase black market weapons hold any more water now?
These are some of the questions
Nigerians are asking, not an untenable spin by untruthful government
officials,” it said.
The party also wondered whether the
funds being ferried up and down by the Administration were appropriated by the
National Assembly, or whether they are part of the missing $20 billion oil
money.
APC slammed the federal government
for issuing childish and immature threats against South Africa threatening its
investments in the country, instead of addressing the pertinent questions
surrounding the illegal arms procurement deals.
“Mr. President, you cannot threaten
another country when your Administration is willfully breaking the laws of that
country.
In this case, your Administration stands
on a weak moral ground, as its hands have been caught in the cookie jar.
Therefore, issuing infantile threats is laughable, unacceptable and wrong,” the party said.
It reminded the Jonathan Administration that
nowhere else does a government engage in illegal black market movement of money
or arms – both signatures of terrorism worldwide, adding that only terrorists
and pariah nations move money and procure arms in clandestine manners.
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