The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has warned that the Federal Government’s current abuse of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), set up in the wake of last year’s partial removal of fuel subsidy, amounts to a gross violation of the country’s constitution and can amount to an impeachable offence.
In a statement issued in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said that the PDP-controlled federal government was now using part of the funds accruing to the programme to empower the party’s cronies ahead of the 2015 general elections, instead of using it for the benefit of all Nigerians.
It warned SURE-P’s head, Dr Christopher Kolade, a respectable citizen who is known for his transparency and integrity, not to allow the skewed and partisan implementation of the programme by the federal government to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.
‘’Ordinarily, SURE-P seems laudable as it is aimed at the empowerment of the citizens through job creation and infrastructure development, but in reality, PDP apparachiks have hijacked it for the purpose of empowering only the party’s members. They have created State Implementation Committees (SICs) to handle the disbursement of SURE-P cash to party
members as a strategy to arm them with a war chest ahead of the 2015 elections.
‘’To make matters worse, the PDP is denigrating the traditional institution by using traditional rulers in some states as the conduit to distribute SURE-P funds, ostensibly to empower Nigerians but in reality to put money in the pockets of PDP supporters,’’ ACN said.
The party reminded the FG that only bodies created by law could disburse funds accruing to the Federation Account, and warned that since the SICs were not recognised by the law, it was an illegal body and its operations violate the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
ACN also warned that the abuse of SURE-P would simply create a monument to corruption, since accountability and transparency were being sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.