The All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated the leading opposition party in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying, it brought the country to “itspresent situation after 16 years of locust, lacks the moral basis andthe credibility to comment on the country's economy or condemn agovernment that is working hard to clear the mess left behind by thedisgraced former ruling party.”

In a statement issued by his Media Office in Abujaon Thursday, theNational Chairman of the ruling APC, Chief John Oyegun, said it is stomach-churning and downright immoralfor the ruinous PDP, which has yet to show remorse or exhibit any formof penitence for presiding over the mindless looting of the nation'streasury, to now put itself up as the saviour of Nigerians.
Noting that even among thieves, there must be honour, the Chairmansaid Nigerians, who are now bearing the brunt of the economy that wasmindlessly mismanaged by the PDP, cannot forget in a hurry that some$15 billion – which is about half of the nation's foreign reserves atthe end of the tenure of the PDP-led Federal Government – wasmismanaged under the guise of the equipping the military, when inreality the funds were largely salted away by PDP fat cats.
He said Nigerians are also not unaware that just before the lastgeneral elections, some $2.1 billion was shared out to just a few PDPfaithful, either to be used for praying again Boko Haram or forphantom communication purposes, when in reality the soldiers whom themoney was meant to equip were dying in droves.

The Chairman listed other instances of the massive looting of thenational till under the PDP, which never differentiated between theparty’s finances and the Nigerian treasury, to include:
the $20 billion in oil proceeds that was never paid into theFederation Account,
the N33 trillion in national oil revenue that was not accountedfor, considering that while the nation earned in excess of N56trillion over five years under the last administration, the totalbudget for those years amounted to about N23 trillion,
the $47 million that was distributed to a few individuals just tooil the election process before the last polls.

He said while indeed it was glaring that the PDP-led administrationwas profligate and rapacious, nothing prepared Nigerians for themind-boggling discoveries that have emerged in the past one year,including the fact that just a handful of people could have plunderedfar more than half of what belonged to a country of over 170 millionpeople.

“'What is happening now is clear: Just because the farmer has notcheckmated the thief, he (thief) has become so emboldened that he isnow making a move to even cage the farmer from whom he has beenstealing.

“How else can one characterise the most annoying statement by the PDPthat it is on a mission to rescue Nigeria, the tale of a killerpresenting himself as a life saver? Are these people jokers? Do theythink Nigerians do not realise that the stage for today’s tougheconomic situation was set by the same PDP that is now masquerading asa saviour? Worse still, is this PDP's bold face not a ploy to distractthe Administration that is on a rescue mission?

“Nigeria is currently in ICU (Intensive Care Unit), after it wasrescued from PDP. Yet, the same PDP has the audacity to constantlypillory the ‘doctors’ trying to save the ‘patient’,” the Chairmansaid.
The Chairman appealed to Nigerians not to succumb to the antics of thePDP but to continue to support the efforts of the presentAdministration, which is working day and night to ease the impact ofthe tough economic situation on the citizens.

“Yes, we knew the situation was bad, but we never imagined that itwas this bad. Yes, we knew that the vast majority of our nationalpatrimony had been stolen and converted by PDP and their cronies, butwe clearly underestimated the scope of the stealing. The fact thatour country and people survived the PDP and the last administration isperhaps the 8th wonder of the world.
''But we have long moved beyond bothering about this mindless party toseeking to bring the nation back to its feet. What we cannot fathom isfor the same PDP to now be heckling us and pretending to be the newsaviour of Nigerians.

“Engaging in a campaign of calumny by claiming that the country’seconomy under President Muhammadu Buhari was deteriorating is sounconscionable on the part of the PDP, which frittered away the hugewindfall that the nation earned during the years that oil sold forover $100. Even with the number of PDP operatives and officials whohave confessed or admitted their complicity in the looting of thetreasury, the party has continued to try to pull the wool over theface of Nigerians.

“This shameless distraction must stop forthwith, and here is servingnotice that henceforth, the PDP will no longer have a field day intrying to twist facts and present the Buhari Administration, which ison an urgent rescue mission, as the villain,” Chief Oyegun warned

•Photo showsOyegun.