The presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in the last general elections, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has advised government to wipe out corruption instead of removing the subsidy on petroleum products.
Buhari spoke yesterday in Abuja while inaugurating a CPC renewal committee to be headed by former FCT minister Nasir el-Rufai. According to the presidential candidate, the committee will focus on rebranding and repositioning the party.
Meanwhile, el-Rufai has said less than N1 billion was spent and budgeted for subsidy in 2007 and that the issue now was the amount of money being stolen in the name of subsidy, running into trillions of naira.
Buhari continued: “I have already said it. I said in Adamawa last week that our party does not believe in it.
Let them wipe out corruption and we will live happily ever after.
“One critical consideration has compelled us to initiate the renewal of the party, 30 weeks after the general election. While the elections of 1999, 2003 and 2007 inspired hopes that were later dashed, the general elections in 2011 have demonstrated one reality: that we, as Nigerians and as a people, must not accept.
“The elections showed that millions of people could stay away from voting, yet the state and its umpire agencies could generate pre-determined electoral outcomes.
Nigerians must not accept this evolving reality because it is evil and everyone must remember that evil has a life span and will one day collapse and judge itself.”
“It is discouraging that, 10 years after the start of democratic rule in our country, political parties have remained a platform for selling or trading public office nomination tickets rather than be the fulcrum for which effective public service can be provided for our people.”
For his part, el-Rufai said the alleged fuel subsidy was a monumental fraud. “The government is trying to tax Nigerians for their inefficiency and corruption. When we were in government, you didn’t even hear of billions of naira being paid as subsidy. There was subsidy, yes. We adjusted the prices several times to reduce the gap,” he stated. “But the last year we were in office, the amount of money spent on subsidy in the budget was less than N1 billion. Today, you are talking of N1.3 trillion. There is something wrong. What has happened? Has the corruption of Nigerians multiplied 10 times or 12 times since then? Has the exchange rate changed so much or the price of oil?”
On the renewal of CPC, el-Rufai said, “Nigerians look up to our party as that of social justice, public service and integrity in governance. Only our party has the leadership and membership committed to unlocking Nigeria’s potentials and providing equal opportunity for all. Therefore, we must rise up and reorganise to fix the dysfunctional political economy of Nigeria.”
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