The All Progressives Congress
(APC), has slammed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for opposing the decision
of the federal government to obtain a $5.5 billion foreign loan.
However, in a statement signed by
its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the APC said the opposition
PDP needed to wake up to the new realities that the days of borrowing to pay
salaries and fund bogus projects are long gone.
It said that, “in developing
economies, governments typically resort to borrowing to finance economic
development projects because taxation and other revenue streams may not
necessarily provide sufficient funds for economic development.”
The APC added that, “the recent
borrowing plans proposed by the President Buhari administration is no different
as the President has clearly stated in his request to the National Assembly
that the loan will be used to finance the 2017 budget deficit and invest in
critical and verifiable infrastructure project which will ultimately grow the
economy.”
The statement further reads: “the
PDP in its statement unapologetically claimed that it ‘meritoriously’ governed
the country for 16 years and ‘handed over a buoyant economy to the APC in 2015.
“Really, what could be further
from the truth? The APC considers the claim a new height of PDP’s insensitivity
to the populace and has further exposed the PDP as a Party unrepentant for the
rot it left the country after its 16 years rule.
“Even when crude sold above $100,
the immediate-past PDP-led administration struggled to build savings. In
addition, the excess crude account was misspent. Poor capital expenditure meant
badly-needed infrastructure development was put on hold. This forced construction
companies with government contracts to cut back and sack thousands of workers.
“Nigerians will sadly recall how
in the leadup to President Buhari’s assumption of office, former finance
minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in
May 2015, revealed that Nigeria was borrowing to pay government salaries.
“‘Out of the N882 billion
budgetary provision for borrowing, the government has borrowed 473 billion
naira to meet up with recurrent expenditure, including salaries and overheads.
“On April 2016, Okonjo-Iweala who
served as finance minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo between 2003 and
2006 and again under President Goodluck Jonathan between 2011 and 2015 also
blamed the country’s present economic situation on the zero political will of
the immediate past government to save for the rainy day.
“Today, successive national
budgets of the APC administration has prioritised and increased budgetary
allocation for capital projects as one of the strategic ways to stimulate
economic growth in the country. The economy has started responding to policy
initiatives of the government as evidenced in the improvement and stability of
the naira exchange rate; increase in the country’s foreign reserves and the
recent announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the country
has officially come out of recession.
“The borrowing plan of the
President Buhari-led administration is inevitable in view of the current
economic realities in the country. As stated in the president’s loan request to
the National Assembly, the loan will be invested in infrastructure projects
such as the Mambilla Hydropower Project, Construction of a Second Runway at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport, counterpart funding for Rail projects and
the construction of the Bodo-Bonny Road, with a Bridge across the Opobo
Channel.
“If the PDP thinks that by
spewing falsehood and unsubstantiated claims, the Party will return to power in
2019, then the PDP needs to seriously rethink its strategies. Nigerians are not
gullible and can differentiate between a Party who brought the country to where
it is today and the Party clearing the rot and rebuilding the country.
“As the National Assembly
considers the proposed borrowing plan submitted by the President, the APC calls
on members of the Senate and House of Representatives to rise above sundry
sentiments and approve the request which is pro-people and in the overall best
interest of the country.”
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