The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) berates the Federal Government over
attempts to hoodwink Nigerians by concealing officially documented data
on debts and the alarming state of the nation’s economy.
Our party insists that it is public knowledge that our nation’s economy
has been mismanaged arising from excessive borrowings by the President
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The PDP described as scandalous, disgraceful and highly irresponsible
that the Buhari-led administration attempted to disprove already known
facts, as presented by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, that our
nation’s debt profile, under the Buhari administration, has risen to 99
percent of the revenue profile in the first quarter of 2020.
It is reprehensible that the Federal Government, through the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, would deny that its first
quarter 2020 financial report stated that Federal Government’s retained
revenue stood at N950.56 billion, while the total debt services was
N943.12 billion.
In his denial, the minister forgot that the Medium Term Expenditure
Framework and Fiscal Strategy document from the Federal Ministry of
Finance, Budget and National Planning which showed the figures was
already in the public domain.
For the avoidance of doubt, tables 3.4 and 4.3 of the report
respectively, state that, “as at end of March 2020, FGN’s retained
revenue was N950.56 billion”, and that “of the expenditure, N943.12
billion was for debt service”.
The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the response by the Federal
Government to issues raised by Atiku Abubakar has further exposed the
falsehood and concealments inherent in the APC administration and why
our nation’s economy has been in a dire strait.
The fact is that the Buhari administration has destroyed our economy
with accumulation of debts to the extent that the debt profile has risen
to 99 percent of our retained revenue. No amount of whitewash by the
Minister of Information can distort this fact.
It is equally inexcusable for the minister to claim that the debts taken
by the administration was meant to address the poverty it brought to our
nation, when it cannot point to any tangible project it had done in any
critical sector apart from turning our nation into the poverty capital
of the world.
It is therefore clear that with the prevailing situation and the refusal
by the Buhari-led Federal Government to take responsibility for its
actions, our economy is heading towards the brinks.
The PDP counsels the Buhari administration to desist from its denials
and take responsibility for the economic crisis and debt burden it has
plunged our nation into. The earlier they wake up and begin to think of
what legacy their eight years in office will be remembered for, the
better.
It will be unpardonable, if after eight years, all that Nigerians will
remember the Buhari administration for is a basketful of morsels of
lies, huge debts, humongous corruption, escalated bloodletting, hunger,
starvation and awful living conditions that were unknown to Nigerians in
our national history.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
