Newspaper review: N302mn car gifts lands another PDP chief in EFCC net

– President Muhammadu Buhari says he is embarrassed over 2016 budget padding

– PDP kicks as EFCC arrest Uche Secondus over N302 million car gifts

The Punch reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 24 arrested the immediate past acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus.

Secondus was picked up in Abuja on Tuesday following the confession of the chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, Mr. Jide Omokore, who was arrested last week by the EFCC following probe on the payment of fuel subsidy under the immediate past minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

A source within the agency disclosed that Omokore, who was a close associate of the former minister mentioned Secondus name during interrogation on fuel subsidy payments and other oil deals.

The source said the former acting national chairman of the PDP is being interrogated over 23 cars valued at N302 million he and other persons collected from Omokore. The cars consisted of Mercedes G63 and Range Rover Autobiography. The source also hinted that names of other prominent members of the party, including a former national chairman during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was also mentioned by Omokore.

The Punch newspaper

The Nation reports that Prince Uche Secondus is currently being detained by the EFCC for allegedly receiving 23 choice cars from a business associate of former minister of petroleum resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

It was gathered that Secondus was interrogated for about eight hours on the curious gifts, and that his detention has sparked fresh panic in the country’s main opposition party as some prominent leaders were also recipient of some of the luxury cars. Secondus was arrested early yesterday and taken to the EFCC’s Abuja headquarters for questioning.

The source said: “We have detained Secondus to assist the EFCC in its ongoing investigation of how oil receipts were diverted to the purchase of 23 vehicles.

“A business associate of ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, who operates a private upstream oil and gas company, confirmed that the accruable revenue was used to buy the said vehicles. Our operatives stumbled on these records in the course of going through the Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). We have quizzed Secondus for about eight hours and he has made a statement. But we are yet to admit him to bail until the investigation gets to a convenient bend.”

The source further revealed that preliminary investigation had shown that the money accrued from oil deals was spent on campaign by the PDP.

The Nation newspaper

The Guardian reports that the PDP has reacted to the arrest of Secondus, who served as the acting chairman of the party’s national working committee (NWC) from 2015 to 2016.

The party on February 24 in a statement issued by its national legal adviser, Victor Kwom, described the arrest of Secondus, who was a two-term Rivers state chairman of the party as another example of oppressive and unfair treatment against its key leaders by the Federal Government.

The party said the arrest and detention of its immediate past acting chairman by the commission is part of the grand script by the All Progressives Party-led federal government to annihilate the opposition.

“We are also aware that plans have been perfected by the Federal Government to arrest and detain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio and other leaders of the party on imaginary charges. Finally, we state that this war on the PDP and its leaders has indeed gone too far. It has now become a mockery of democratic practice,” the statement read.

The Guardian newspaper

Moving away from politics, Vanguard in its report on February 24 says President Muhammadu Buhari has publicly agreed that he was embarrassed with the drama that played out with the 2016 budget he personally presented to the National Assembly.

The president during a session with Nigerian community in Saudi Arabia where he is currently on official visit, disclosed that the budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly December last year had been utterly doctored. He condemned the distortion and vowed to deal decisively with the masterminds.

President Buhari also revealed to the Nigerian community that as a result of the sudden crude oil fall in the global market, Nigeria would return to agriculture and mining development to improve the country’s economy.

Vanguard newspaper

Daily Sun also has it in its report that President Buhari during a meeting with Nigerian community in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 23 promised to severely punish all those involved in the “padding” of the 2016 budget, describing their actions as disappointing and embarrassing.

Buhari said those behind the distortion are the people with “entrenched interests,” and pointed out that the unauthorised alterations had completely changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly.

“The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military Head of State and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund. Never had I heard the words “budget padding.” Our Minister of Budget and National Planning did a great job with his team. The minister became almost half his size during the time, working night and day to get the bud¬get ready, only for some people to pad it. What he gave us was not what was finally being debated. It is very embarrassing and disappointing. We will not allow those who did it to go unpunished,” he said.

Daily Sun newspaper

The president also assured his Nigerian audience that his government was working towards fulfilling its campaign promises, especially on security, unemployment, and corruption. He reiterated his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption, saying the war against corruption was a monumental task that he was determined to tackle successfully.

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