PDP accuses APC of destroying the independence of EFCC, ICPC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of destroying the independence of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).

PDP said this in a statement to commemorate the 19th anniversary as a “topmost” political party in Nigeria.

According to the statement, PDP created the EFCC and ICPC within its 16 years in power, to curb the menace of corruption in the country.

“The PDP formally came into being on the 31st of August, 1998, and has since then, remained the only viable, prosperous, strongest and most visionary political party in Nigeria,” the statement read.

“The PDP administration established two major anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to curb the menace of corruption in the country.

“These efforts reduced corrupt practices and further increased the confidence of foreign investors that resulted in huge investment inflows into the country.

“The APC-led government of today has destroyed the independence of these agencies with their selective approach of using ‘deodorants’ when APC members are involved and ‘insecticides’ when it concerns the PDP members and other Nigerians.”

Ahmed Makarfi, chairman of the party’s caretaker committee, thanked all members of the party, its founding fathers and supporters.

The statement signed by Chinwe Nnorom, head, publicity division of PDP, reeled out some of its achievements in power, while promising to do more if elected in the 2019 election.

“Nigeria as a country is today celebrating close to two decades of uninterrupted civilian rule because of the sacrifices and investments made by the founding fathers of the PDP. We are proud of them and their legacies will be immortalized in the anal of Nigerian history,” the statement read.

“We also thank the people of Nigeria for the overwhelming support and confidence reposed on us in our sixteen years of administration. As a human organization, there might have been some issues or areas we could not cover when we were governing. We promise to make amends as when given the opportunity again in 2019.

“As we celebrate the Nineteen Years of the PDP today, we are proud of the huge achievements of successive PDP administrations which are too numerous to mention. We therefore call on all our members, supporters and indeed all Nigerians to continue believing in the PDP.

“We wish to further emphasize that the PDP remains the only tried, tested and reliable party in Nigeria.

“For the record, in 1999 the Image of Nigeria internationally was in a deplorable state with very poor human rights records.The PDP took conscious steps to change that perception and within a very short period, it restored the country to its pride of place among the comity of nations. We promise to do it again come 2019.”