COVID 19: Account for N1.3tn intervention fund, PDP charges Buhari

TRACKING____The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged President Buhari to absolve his government of allegations of corruption in the handling of the N1.3 trillion set aside to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the economy.

PDP expressed concern that setting up the intervention fund without appropriation and without parliamentary approval, Nigerians demand transparency in how the funds are spent.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said the federal government should come clean on the sources of the intervention, the specific intervention projects where the funds will applied, the level of involvement of other tiers of government and private stakeholders, as well as the mode of disbursements and monitoring.

The PDP also demanded that the COVID-19 intervention be allocated to the three tiers of government for effective delivery and monitoring.

Furthermore, the PDP called on all economic stakeholders, particularly in the private sector to immediately rally to articulate solutions and palliative measures, since it is clear that the Buhari-led APC government is clueless and has no solutions to offer.

It urged the economic stakeholders to articulate ways to effectively diversify the economy and provide jobs using the all-inclusive measures implemented by PDP administrations to effectively grow the economy as well as successfully handle emergencies such as the Ebola virus disease.

The party accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Buhari Presidency of finally wrecking the nation’s economy as there is no hope in sight under their control.

“Our nation is currently in shambles with a drifting economy, a devalued currency (N380 to a dollar), collapsed infrastructure, a frightening 23.1 per cent unemployment rate, high cost of essential goods, increased morbidity rate, reduced life expectancy and a despondent citizenry leaving our country in droves.

“This situation is worsened with the reckless foreign borrowing by the APC and its administration which today stands at an alarming $108 billion with no productive repayment plan; funds which have been exposed as being frittered and stolen by APC leaders and the cabal.

“More distressing is that the APC federal government has become overwhelmed, confused and now resorts to uncoordinated knee-jerk measures and lame excuses such as trying to heap the blames of our economic woes just on the COVID-19.

“It is however, instructive to note that even before the COVID-19, our economy was already in shambles and had been on a free fall in the last five years, due to the incompetence and reckless policies of the Buhari administration,” the party lamented.

Suggesting solutions, the PDP asked President Buhari to immediately end all tactless economic policies, accept failure, seek help and get more competent hands to work on the economy, develop strategies to strengthen the naira as well as paddle our nation out of the current economic quandary.

“The government should end its exclusionist policies and allow competent Nigerians, who are now being engaged by other countries, to help out.

“The Buhari-led APC administration should immediately cut down the size of its over-bloated government and plug wastages by clipping the luxury expenditure of the Presidency, cabinet ministers and other executive appointees while channelling billions of naira to be saved to the national economy.

“The Buhari-led administration should also shelve every plan of increasing the already excruciating taxes including the Value Added Tax (VAT) which it increased from five per cent to 7.5 per cent with an attendant high costs on essential goods and services.

“The federal government, in its plans to review the 2020 budget, should not touch items that have direct bearings on the welfare of Nigerians, but immediately cut all over-bloated executive votes as well as expunge padding and fraudulently duplicated items, which our party initially pointed out in the budget,” the PDP added.