The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national vice chairman South South, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh has described the centenary city built during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as a ‘blueprint for corruption.’
According to WIKI, “Centenary City is an ambitious new project by the Nigerian Government to build a smart city along the same lines of as Dubai, Monaco and Singapore. The city is to be built from scratch on a 1,260 hectares piece of virgin land located several kilometres southeast of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
The concept of the city was mooted as project to mark the 100 year anniversary of Nigeria by January 1, 2014. It is to be private-sector driven”
However, the PDP national vice chairman South South, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh , who spoke with reporters last weekend in Abuja, said a huge expanse of land was given to one man who went to incorporate the centenary city as a free trade zone, describing it as “crime personified.”
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According to him, he had personally written a letter to President Jonathan on several occasions concerning the centenary city telling him it was wrong to create a free trade zone in the city centre.
He said the centenary city project had made some Nigerians believe that the PDP is a corrupt party. “Find out. The centenary city is owned by one man and when he comes he will start calling names; Abdulsalam Abubakar, this and that. If you go to the Corporate Affairs Commission, you will see the owner of the centenary city.
“There are two companies owned by one man who was in charge of the office of the SGF. “Somebody within that office called the SGF had (the) impunity to tell Nigerians lies that the centenary city is a public private partnership arrangement; I mean it is a lie. In fact, huge chunk of land was given to only one man and it didn’t stop there. He now went to incorporate the entity as a free zone.
“Where have you ever seen it in this world? It is crime personified.
“But we are going to re-build the party and if we don’t tell ourselves the truth, we won’t be able to rebuild the party. I have told you why the PDP lost the election.
“But as a PDP member, I am telling you that PDP is not corrupt. But what I know is the issue of the centenary city which I know that, that place is a blueprint for corruption and that entity is corrupt.”