The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Minister of Defence, Mansur Muhammad Dan-Ali, of diverting funds meant for military equipment and welfare of soldiers fighting insurgency in the Northeast, to produce partisan materials for All Progressives Congress (APC) re-election campaign.
The PDP’s reaction is coming as campaign materials, including electronic momenta book produced by the Minister, surfaced in Abuja on Monday.
In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP flayed Dan-Ali for ascribing credit to himself and the APC for the campaign materials while Nigerian soldiers suffer neglect in the war front.
The main opposition party said that the placing of APC logo alongside that of the Ministry of Defence on the momenta, confirmed its position that the Buhari Presidency has compromised the nation’s defence architecture for Mr. President’s re-election project.
The statement said, “Our party considers it insensitive and a gross impunity for the Minister of Defence to be engaging in patronizing souvenirs for President Buhari at a time when our soldiers are being killed in their numbers.
“It is also instructive to note that President Muhammadu Buhari, as Mr. Integrity, has not reprimanded the Minister, ostensibly, given that the diversion of public funds for his re-election campaign is now a policy of the APC and the Buhari Presidency.
“Nigerians can now see how the Buhari Presidency and the APC have turned the Ministry of Defence into their Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) to fund their re-election, at the detriment of our citizens who are being daily attacked by insurgents and marauders in various parts of our country.
“There is a fixation in the Buhari Presidency on winning the 2019 elections at all cost even at the expense of the lives of Nigerians”.
The party noted that with the revelation, the APC has proven to be a soulless mob, which has no interest in the good of the nation, but desperate to hang onto power by all means.
It called for an open investigation into the handling of military funds to unravel those benefiting from the alleged racket, especially given allegation that some persons close to the President are being used as conduits to fritter public funds for the President’s re-election and their wasteful lifestyles.