Some monarchs, top political appointees, agents swindle political appointment seekers
I’m ashamed to be APC member – Hon Daunemigha, former APC guber aspirant
By Emma Amaize
A presidential aspirant of All Progressives Congress, APC in 2019 general elections, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is more corrupt than the former President Shehu Shagari civilian administration, which Buhari overthrew as a military ruler in 1983 for corruption.
Another chieftain of the party, a former governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State, Hon Famous Daunemigha, also berated the Buhari administration, saying: “I feel so ashamed to have been a part of this political party called APC and even more ashamed to have been with Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari, from ANPP, APP, CPC to APC that is not fit to be called a political party.”
Alhaji Unagha, a legal practitioner, in an interview with Vanguard, said that President Buhari’s popularity has waned because of his rudderless regime, saying that was the reason some of them wanted him to retire quietly to Daura, his hometown, after his first tenure, but some persons egged him on.
His words: “Nobody will convince me that the government is fighting corruption, it is all lip service and window dressing exercise. How on earth a government that pride itself very high in the war against corruption, yet, corruption is still the order of the day.”
“Corruption in this administration to me seems to have been more than what prevailed in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari administration that led to his being sacked. This, I stand to be corrected, Mr President said those he trusted, betrayed the trust, I am wondering why he still retains them in the government or still allowing them to remain in office.
“The integrity of Mr President is not in doubt, the issue centres on his age and the dynamism of his ability to take charge of his government. He trusted his men for too long. One cannot access his ministers, yet we are in one party. Nigeria is heading to a total collapse, gradually sliding down as a failed state without direction unless urgent steps are taken to address the ailing economy.
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“I have been privileged to have an audience with Buhari on two occasions, I wonder if this is the President I used to know. Losing popularity is an understatement because he is surrounded by people he trusted destroying and giving his administration a bad title that he does not deserve.
“Do you know that there are some traditional rulers and faceless agents duping suspected political appointment seekers in disguise that they are close to President Buhari? They stay in a five-star hotel in Abuja making people believed that they are close to the Villa. Even top political appointees have their agents in strategic places where they collect money in the name of appointments.
“They have digitised their modules and apparatus of defrauding politicians, including APC members that worked tirelessly for Mr President seeking for political appointments. The President I know is a man of honour, integrity, transparency, therefore, he should not allow some hawks to destroy all that he has labored to build, over these years.
“I must not limit myself to the federal level alone, but what is happening at the various states are even worse, the exception of some states like Rivers and few others. If you see how these state governors rush to Abuja to collect allocation, yet nothing in their states to show for it, is very disappointing. I must give kudos, to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who I may describe here as the real lion of Niger Delta,” he said.
On the performance of his party, he asserted: “To me, is not Uhuru yet, we are still far from the promises our party gave to Nigerians during the electioneering campaign. I never thought we can go this way and that was the reason some of us, who saw it coming after the first tenure of Mr President, were resolved to contest the Presidential election but not allowed, especially with the prohibitive hike of the nomination form by the disgraced former national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
“The situation in this country has reached a point where we will no longer keep quiet in respect of the fact that the party is supreme. Nigeria interest is superior, supersede every other interest. I have said it in several fora that Nigeria needs a surgical operation, not this epileptics, and oxygen treatment. Some of us have wanted Mr. President to retire quietly to his Daura to earn him more respect but turned out to be that those of us are the enemies of the party and government.
“We knew that Nigeria will be stalemated in the second tenure, In fact, we are more confused than as we were before now. Take a look at the exchange rate of dollar to naira, the frequent increment of the pump price of petroleum product with hunger everywhere. Every good and service in Nigeria has increased to unbearable acceptance, driving our youths to negative disposition.
“In 2015, Nigerians with high spirit and enthusiasm voted for change (APC), however, what we have seen so far is the reverse, taking us back to Egypt by five thousand feet,” Unagha added.
Also speaking to Sunday Vanguard, ex-Bayelsa governorship aspirant and Niger Delta activist, Hon Famous Daunemigha, said Nigeria was behaving like a fool at 60 years for deciding to construct a railway line to the Niger Republic when virtually all the federal highways were in deplorable condition.
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Hon Daunemigha, an All Progressives Congress, and APC, chieftain, said: “I have observed this government started in the wrong direction from its inception and cannot get Nigeria anywhere. I am in a great shock reading about the federal government spending huge amounts of money to build a railway line to the Niger Republic and my simple question is why and for what economic benefits?”
Saying he was dumbfounded at the ill-advised plan, Daunemigha demanded an explanation from the Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi, on the financial advantages of the project to the country “because it is obvious that resources from Niger Delta will be depleted to pay for such project.
“I feel Nigeria is a fool at 60 years and need not exist as a country, I feel so ashamed to have been a part of this political party called APC and even more ashamed to have been with Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari from ANPP, APP, CPC to APC that is not fit to be called a political party.
“We have virtually all our federal highways in bad condition, but they never thought it wise to fix them, only to be spending huge amounts of money on a railway line to the Niger Republic,” he added.
