All Progressives Congress on Sunday alleged that
about $56bn (N11.02tn) was looted during the
administration of former President Goodluck
Jonathan and that the Buhari government needed to
recover the funds to fulfill the change promised by
the APC.

In the breakdown by the ruling party, it said $6bn
(1.2tn, at the rate of N197 to dollar) was stolen by
some of Jonathan’s ministers and that 160 million
barrels of crude worth $13.9bn (N2.74tn) were lost
between 2009 and 2012 while $13bn (N2.56tn) in
NLNG dividends was mostly unaccounted for.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, said this in a statement on Sunday.
Mohammed’s statement read in part, “Some
instances of the looting are as follows: N3.8tn out of
the N8.1tn earned from crude oil (2012-2015)
withheld by NNPC; $2.1bn (N413.7bn) from Excess
Crude Account unaccounted for; Department of
Petroleum Resources’ unremitted N109.7bn royalty
from oil firms.

“Others are: $6bn (1.2tn) allegedly looted by some
ministers of the last administration; 160 million
barrels of crude worth $13.9bn (N2.74tn) lost
between 2009 and 2012; $15m (N2.96bn) from the
botched arms deal yet to be returned to Nigeria; $
13bn (N2.56tn) in NLNG dividends mostly
unaccounted for; N30bn rice waiver; and N183bn
unaccounted for at the NDDC.”

The APC consequently lashed out at those telling
President Muhammadu Buhari not to waste time
probing the Jonathan administration.

The statement seems to be in reaction to a statement
by the National Peace Committee, which reportedly
told Buhari that probing the past administration was
not a substitute for governance.
The APC, however, said there was no way the Buhari
government could effectively take off if it did not
recover some of the trillions stolen under Jonathan
and that the party’s promise of change was based on
the assumption that it would recover some stolen
funds.

The statement added, “It is absolutely gratifying that
Nigerians are vehemently opposed to the few who
would rather have the government of the day turn a
blind eye to the looted funds and, in their words,
carry on with the process of governance.

“Truly, what sort of governance can go on if the
billions of naira in a few hands are not recovered? In
the first instance, the government needs every kobo
of the funds it can muster to bring about the change
it has promised Nigerians.

“Secondly, leaving such hair-raising funds in the
hands of the few looters is dangerous, because they
can use the funds to destabilise any government. In
fact, no one will be surprised if the looters use their
dirty funds to sponsor public demonstrations against
the government’s determination to recover the funds.

‘’Thirdly, allowing those who privatised the
commonwealth to get away is offering a thumbs-up
for looting. No responsible government will do that.”

The party said that those who stole had embarked on
an increasingly-bold campaign to discredit the
government of the day and sabotage the funds’
recovery process, using newspaper columnists,
‘talking heads’ and otherwise respectable opinion
leaders.

The APC submitted that it was necessary to remind
Nigerians of the “massive looting of the treasury” that
took place in the past few years, so the citizens could
better appreciate the seriousness of the issue at
stake.

The party said the listed “missing” funds constituted
just a tip of the iceberg, adding, ‘’The level of looting
that went on in other sectors is better imagined,
hence the need for all Nigerians to rally around the
Buhari administration to recover the loots, bring the
looters to justice and to put in place measures to
prevent such looting in the future.”

But the Peoples Democratic Party, in its reaction on
Sunday, said the figures released by the APC were
imaginary.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa
Metuh, in a statement, described Mohammed’s
statement as “reckless, irresponsible and highly
provocative.”

Metuh said, “In trying to escalate their stock-in-trade
of lies, wild allegations and falsehood, the APC failed
to understand that their baseless fabrications are
capable of throwing an unsuspecting nation into
chaos.

“The spate of fabrications by Lai Mohammed has
become a sickening source of worry for well-meaning
Nigerians, including those in his party.”

The PDP spokesperson called on Buhari and the APC,
as a party, to call their spokesman to order before he
plunges the country into crisis with wild and
unsubstantiated claims.

He said the APC-led government should get serious
with the fight against corruption by investigating and
prosecuting corrupt persons, rather than
unnecessarily playing to the gallery.