***PDP called for the immediate prosecution of Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
***Demanded the immediate prosecution of the sacked executive secretary of the NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf.
***Claims the duo are facing allegations of corruption while serving the present administration.
By Jennifer Y Omiloli
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate prosecution of the former minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, over his alleged role in the reported National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) N2.5 billion fraud.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP said that the duo must not be left off the hook because of the are APC members.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that the ICPC had already indicated, in a press release, that Alhaji Lai Mohammed admitted in a statement to it, that he was “misled” by the director-general of the NBC, who was his subordinate, into approving the payment of the N2.5 billion to a private company.
“This is a former minister who was in a haste to publish names of innocent Nigerians as looters just because they are members of the PDP, while a humongous fraud simmered under his nose,” the party said.
The party insisted that Alhaji Lai Mohammed should be prosecuted alongside the director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Alhaji Modibbo Kawu, following his statement at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).
“Our party therefore insists that since the ICPC holds that the former minister’s involvement had come under questioning, he should be made to explain himself in the dock, not as a witness but as a defendant in the matter.” The party said.
The opposition party also demanded the immediate prosecution of the sacked executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Prof. Usman Yusuf, over allegations of misappropriation of N919 million as exposed by a ministerial panel.
“The party therefore states that Prof. Yusuf must be prosecuted in order to track and recover the over N25 billion allegedly siphoned from the account of the Scheme in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to service APC interests,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, there are rumors that one of the factors delaying the selection of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list is the serious internal wrangling within the ruling party.
