Kachikwu's letter - PDP calls for the immediate suspension of NNPC GMD, Baru

The Peoples Democratic Party has expressed outrage at “the loud silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on the humongous corruption scandal” rocking the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and called for the immediate suspension of its Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru.

The party said the scandal involving “two of the president’s henchmen”, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, and Mr. Baru shows the bias of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war.

In a statement on Thursday by its spokesperson, Dayo Adeyeye, PDP said it expected the president to have reacted and also prove himself as a corruption fighter by allowing one of his own to be investigated.

President Buhari is yet to speak on the allegations of abuse of contract process at the NNPC, although he is scheduled to meet Mr. Kachikwu on Friday at the State House.

The minister, in an August 30 letter to the president, had said Mr. Baru circumvented extant procurement regulations in awarding a series of contracts up to $25 billion, or N9 trillion at prevailing exchange rate of N360 to a dollar, warning of grave consequences the decisions could wreak if allowed to stand.

The letter appeared on the Internet on Tuesday, but no one has claimed credits for its leakage.

Speaking on the scandal, the PDP commended the Senate for indicating interest in the case and setting up a committee to investigate the allegations levelled by Mr. Kachikwu against the NNPC Chief.

“As a political party, we expect that the President, who prides himself as an indefatigable corruption fighter, would for once try to live above board, by genuinely allowing one of his own, accused of corruption, get properly investigated and prosecuted as a show of his impartiality in the war against corruption,” the party stated