The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum on Monday took a swipe at the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on the poor state of the economy.
The governors, who stated this at their meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, also urged the National Assembly to override the President’s veto on the Electoral Act Amendment bill to ensure a quick passage of the bill into law.
The forum said the bill, if passed into law would guarantee credible elections in 2023, adding that early completion of the amendment process would save the nation’s electoral system.
The forum in a-nine points communique issued at the end of its meeting regretted that the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government destroyed the over a $550bn economy handed over to it by the PDP in 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan.
Reading the communique, the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Mr Aminu Tambuwal, lamented that the economy had worsened, adding that Jonathan had in 2015 handed over a $550 billion economy, the largest in Africa, to the APC government.
He said, “The Nigerian economy has continued to deteriorate and Nigerians have become numb and accustomed to bad economic news as exemplified by the inconsistent and differential exchange rate regime, high interest rates, unsustainable unemployment figures and borrowing spree some of which have not been applied to important projects, and other bad economic indicators. In particular, it is clear that the APC Government is a massive failure when compared with the records of the PDP in government.
“The PDP handed over a $550 billion economy (the largest in Africa), but under APC, Nigeria is the Poverty Capital of the world. In 2015, under PDP, the exchange rate was N198 per Dollar, it is now under APC almost N500 to a Dollar; In 2015, unemployment rate was 7.3% under PDP, it is now 33%, one of the highest in the world under APC; In 2015, the Pump price of Petroleum was N87 per litre, it is now N165 per litre and climbing under APC. Debt Servicing now under APC takes over 98% of the Federal budget. The tales of woe is endless.
He said the PDP governors noted that the management of the country’s oil and gas resources, the administration of Federation Account remittances had remained opaque, confusing and non – transparent, adding that the transition to Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. under the Petroleum Industry Act had not been properly streamlined to ensure that the interests of all the tiers of Government were protected, consistent with the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The forum’s chairman called on the National Assembly to as a matter of urgency conclude its actions on the amendment of the electoral act by either overriding Buhari veto or deleting the aspect under contention to allow quick passage.
He said, “The PDP governors requested the National Assembly to quickly conclude deliberations on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill either by overriding Mr President’s veto or deleting areas of complaints.
