The Committee for the Defence of Democracy, CDD has decried an alleged plot by the Federal Government to arrest ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in connection to the ongoing $2.1 billion arms purchase probe.
The group, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Akindele Lawson tagged the supposed plot as the pinnacle of the blame-game the APC led government has played since attaining power.
The Federal Government has since inauguration continually blamed the administration of Goodluck Jonathan for the economic crunch, insurgency, fuel scarcity, fall of the naira and other unsavory happenings in the country.
The CDD, in lieu of this, asked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to focus on delivering the lofty promises it made to the citizens of Nigeria during the campaign for the 2015 general elections instead of blaming the past administration.
“It is already eight months in the life of the Buhari government and all we have continued to hear is that our problems were caused by the last administration, without anything pointing towards a rescue plan by this government”, the group stated.
The group also stated that if the President continues to focus on the past as his way of leading the nation, then there will be a problem as Nigerians will not see the change promised by the APC government during the campaign in the nearest future.
The group further described the alleged arms probe as nothing but a probe of the campaign funds of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, being sensationalized by the ruling party, while insisting that it was wrong for anyone to claim that military hardware and ammunition were not acquired in the last administration.
“It is on record that despite the difficulties that the Jonathan administration faced in procuring arms from some western nations over alleged human rights issues, he still managed to source sizable quantities of platforms, weapons, bullets and other ammunition for the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force, which were used to tackle insurgency to a near end before the end of his administration.”
“There is no doubt that the purchase of massive arms and ammunition in the last one year of the Jonathan government made it possible for the military to root out Boko Haram terrorists from all parts of Yobe and Adamawa States, leaving only about three local government areas in Borno State, partially under the control of the insurgents, as at May 2015,” the statement further said.
The group also dared the Buhari-led government to deny the fact that the weapons the Nigerian Military are using to fight insurgency currently were not bought by the Jonathan administration stressing that Buhari’s government has not bought any new arms till date.
In conclusion, the group said “Finally, the CDD, wishes to remind President Buhari and the APC, that elections are over and less focus should be placed on Dr. Jonathan or his party, PDP. Our economy is sliding towards a recession and several uncertainties are already trailing our National polity, as it is time for the APC government to face the business of governance and stop the blame game.”
