•Prince Audu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State has alleged that the state government wasted close to N500 billion under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.
The party, in a statement by the Head of Media, Prince Abubakar Audu Governorship Campaign Organisation, Dr. Tom Ohikere, said despite the dearth of social infrastructure, the PDP administration under Governor Idris Wada wasted over N.5trillion.
The statement reads: “The PDP government in kogi State has received and spent over N500 billion since 2003 without financial accounting. The administration has been operating as if the state is a personal enterprise.
“The Wada government has refused to render financial records to date, thereby negating the principle of stewardship and accountability.
“It is neither a responsible nor a responsive government. It is a government deficient in integrity and bereft of modern democratic principles.
Since the advent of the Wada administration, the financial account of Kogi State has been shrouded in secrecy. It is being managed in a mafia style. Democratic government anywhere in the world is about the people and government is about accountability.”
The PDP, however, told the APC to desist from spreading false information.
It said the party should address what it described as the burden of corruption hanging on its governorship candidate.
The Chief Communication Manager to the Governor, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said the choice of Prince Abubakar Audu as the APC standard-bearer negated President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption stance.
He said: “His ambition is a clash as it relates to the stand of his party. It is a slap on the Buhari anti-corruption campaign. Yes, there is a belief that a man/woman is presumed innocent until he or she is proved guilty.
“There is a moral burden here. The case has been on for as long as you can think, with Prince Audu using frivolous injunctions to stall justice.
“Now, he is trying to hide under the anti-corruption mantra to seek immunity from justice.
“Simply put, let our dear President Buhari detach himself from Audu’s political quest. His dusty past of corruption is a virus that will defame the President’s stance on anti-corruption.
“Audu’s issue should be avoided because this is not about today’s rampant politically-motivated accusations. The records on Audu date back to 10 years before the formation of the APC. If the APC is not careful, Audu’s ambition will ruin Mr. President’s good agenda on change.