Top members of the APC and the national leadership of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, are reportedly divided over the sources of the
N804.7 billion relief package being considered to bail out states who
haven't paid workers salaries.
The PDP said that a very large amount of the bailout funds came from
savings left behind by the administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan,
however, the Presidency disagreed, arguing that the money came from
proceeds of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
Upon assumption of office on May 29, President Muhammadu Buhari said
the departing PDP government left an empty treasury and pleaded with
Nigerians for patience as they await urgent implementation of his change
agenda.
The Presidency also denied some media reports that the presidential
relief package was drawn from the Excess Crude Accounts, ECA, stressing
that the ECA is intact. This came as state governments, the leadership
of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and some eminent Nigerians
praised President Muhammadu Buhari over the relief package, saying it
will help boost the economy.
In a statement by Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of
PDP, he said that the bailout would go a long way in alleviating the
sufferings of Nigerian workers in various states of the federation, most
of whom haven't been paid for several months.
He said:
“This development is in clear contradiction to the earlier impression
given by President Buhari to Nigerians and the international community
that they should not expect much from his administration in its first
100 days because according him, on assumption of office, he met a
virtually empty treasury.
“We want to believe that given the President’s release of such huge
amount, he may have realized that he was earlier misdirected on the
actual financial state of the nation at the time he took over. In this
regard, we expect the President, as a respected statesman to do the
needful to correct that erroneous impression.
“Furthermore, we expect President Buhari’s APC administration as direct
beneficiary of this savings initiated by past PDP administrations to
appreciate the strategic importance of always saving for rainy days and
as such guarantee prudent and transparent management of the nation’s
resources now under its care.”
Metuh said the party therefore charged the APC as a party in government
to put its house in order, desist from injecting confusion and
distracting the President from settling down to form a government and
face the enormous challenges of governance, especially the
implementation of his long list of campaign promises to Nigerians.
He said Nigerians are no longer interested in insults, tirades and
propaganda but in actions and policies that would move the nation
forward, a stance the APC has failed to recognize.
Vanguard
