On Tuesday, the Federal Government announced that governors who were elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform owed Nigerians an explanation on whether or not they had increased funding for their constituents.
This is despite the government, led by the All Progressives Congress (APC), maintaining that the country’s economy is still robust and able to pay its debts to domestic and foreign lenders.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced this on Tuesday in a statement. He stated that the government is operating efficiently and is able to pay all of its expenses while keeping a positive trade balance with trading partners across the globe.
The PDP governors’ plea to the APC-led federal government was followed by a statement from the federal government.must step up and deal with the nation’s escalating economic problems before they go out of control.
The governors stated that the nation’s economic and security issues were the cause of the current suffering that Nigerians are going through.
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, who chairs the PDP Governors Forum, stated, “The forum consequently urges the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, embark on initiatives involving all the sub-national governments to bring a lasting solution to the crises.”
In response, Idris said that the federal government supported their request for a bipartisan strategy to address the security and economic issues facing the country.
But he chastised them, stating, “The PDP governors did not behave themselves in an appropriate manner.”fitting their positions as prominent national leaders who serve on the National Council of States and the National Economic Council, the nation’s highest body for economic management, two significant constitutional committees.
The minister charged that the PDP governors had made a naughty and inaccurate comparison between the country’s present economic woes and Venezuela’s.
While political play by opposition politicians was to be expected, he insisted that it should stay within the confines of truth and faithfulness to the facts, saying that it was unacceptable for PDP governors to distort the truth about the genuine status of Nigeria and mislead the people about it.
The statement is partially as follows: “Today in Abuja, governors elected on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) convened and had a press conference where theirGovernor Bala Mohammed, the chairman, laid out their stance on the economic and security conditions of the nation.
“We applaud their demand for a bipartisan strategy to address the security and economic issues facing our country. The PDP governors undoubtedly have the right, as is expected, to voice their opinions on matters of national importance as important subnational leaders and stakeholders.
“The Nigerian economy is predicted to rise by 3% this year and is still in very good shape. The economy is able to pay its debts to domestic and foreign lenders.
“The Nigerian government is operating efficiently, and we are able to pay all of our expenses while keeping a positive trade balance with our trading partners across the globe.
Although it is expected of opposition politicians to engage in politics, this should only occur withinthe boundaries of factual faithfulness and truth. The PDP governors’ use of the truth to deceive Nigerians about the actual situation in our nation is abhorrent.
“People in Nigeria ought to question PDP governors about the extent and quality of their use of the additional funds to enhance the quality of life for Nigerians in their states.
The majority of PDP-controlled states are documented as owing laborers and retirees months’ worth of overdue salaries and pensions. The governors of the PDP have neglected to provide gratuities to their retired employees. Furthermore, since the minimum wage went into effect more than four years ago, many PDP governors have neglected to pay their employees the required N30,000. Each of these peculiarities in their states has a major role inthe financial strain their people are under.
We urge PDP governors to fulfill their responsibilities to workers, pensioners, and local contractors in order to observe the multiplier effect if they truly care about the living standards of Nigerians and are not merely sowing discontent and animosity toward the federal government.
The PDP governors’ complaints about growing living and food expenses are disheartening, as they have not taken significant action to boost food production in their states. Nigerian states, not the federal government, own the land.
