'Buhari’s budget a big fraud' - PDP
Read the PDP press statement below...
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the N6.8 trillion 2016 federal budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday as a big fraud and executive conspiracy tailored towards mortgaging the future of the nation. The party queried President Buhari’s decision to borrow N2 trillion, the biggest in the history of the nation as the height of recklessness and deceit from a government that trends on propaganda.
The PDP in a statement
by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh on Tuesday berated the
Federal Government for trying to use their bogus welfare programme and phantom
capital projects as cover and conduit to syphon the funds to satisfy partisan
interests, particularly to settle huge campaign debts.
“It is obvious that this
budget is an extension of the campaign promises of the APC government,
presented as a manifesto filled with bogus promises which implementation will
be inconclusive, thereby allowing the APC to once again deny their promises.
“There has never been
any known economy in the world where government deliberately mortgage the
future of its nation by borrowing excessively to finance partisan interests while
hiding under bogus welfare programmes. This is moreso important as the APC in
reeling out their bogus campaign promises never informed Nigerians that they
would mortgage their future through excessive borrowing.
“We have it on good authority
that this is the first in the series of APC borrowings which would leave the
future generation of Nigerians under the burden of huge debts after four years”
The PDP
said the budget clearly shows that after seven months in power, President
Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) are yet to
differentiate between governance and campaign propaganda.
“By all
standards, the 2016 budget, the first major economic policy outing of this
government, is completely unrealistic and duplicitously embellished with
impractical predications, a development that confirms fears by economy watchers
and investors that this administration is obviously ill-equipped for
governance.
“We are
indeed shocked that President Buhari and his minister of information have come
up with two different reasons for the current fuel crisis in the country. While
we appreciate the President’s apology, we think it is high time he called this
minister to order as his excessive propaganda and blame game are ridiculing
this administration and the image of the nation.
“Furthermore,
it is instructive to note the official endorsement of Mr. President to the
devaluation of the naira as against his campaign promise of firming up the value
of our currency even to the much vaunted one naira to one dollar.
‘Does it
mean that Mr. President lied his way to power, or that he did not understand
the complexities of governance when he was making his false promises to Nigerians?
“In future,
there is need to regulate campaign promises so that we will not end up with a
government that promises to climb Mount Everest with bare hands and end up mortgaging
our future with orchestrated borrowings.
“Finally,
we want to request Mr. President to once again to involve experienced and
well-tested hands in the management of the economy and budgeting processes.
This economy is not for Mr. President, neither is it for the APC. The progress
of the economy is for all Nigerians and as such, due care should taken to save
ourselves from unrealistic and deceptive programmes.
Signed:
Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary
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