The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lampooned the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urging him to bury every thought of further ‘mortgaging the nation’s future’ by securing $500 million dollars (N182 billion) loan, purportedly for the upgrading of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesperson of the party appeals to the National Assembly to save the nation by refusing the request by President Muhammadu Buhari “to plunge our nation into more debt through his request for additional $29.9 billion dollars loan, in which the said $500 million and other unexplained subheads are embedded”.
The party claimed that the loan was a clear attempt by the cabal in the Buhari Presidency to worsen the economic situation in our country via the use of phony projects as a guise to draw foreign funds to service ‘their selfish’ economic and political interests.
According to the party notes under the Buhari Presidency, our foreign debt has accumulated to $83 billion dollars with nothing to show other than the excruciating unemployment rate, decayed infrastructure, a worsening governance system, escalated insecurity and unprecedented poverty.
The PDP stressed that the request for the approval of $500 million is aimed at setting the stage for further fleecing of our nation’s economy as the Federal Government under the Buhari administration has shown no commitment towards nation-building, transparency and accountability in governance.
As far as the party is concerned, the Federal Government has failed to present details of the requested $29.9 billion dollars loan in which the $500 million being requested by the Minister of Information and Culture is embedded; a development that points to nothing but the corruption in the Buhari administration.
While counselling the Minister to perish the thoughts of $500 million, the PDP charged him to use his appearance at the National Assembly to give an account of the funds so far released to the Ministry of Information and Culture which has been plagued by cases and allegations of corruption under his watch.
The party also charged Lai Mohammed to immediately provide answers to circumstances surrounding the reported National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) N2.5 billion fraud.
The PDP urged the National Assembly to shelve all requests for foreign loans until the Buhari Presidency heed to the demand by Nigerians to open its books and publish details of all financial transactions on foreign loans as well as spending from the federation account so as to secure our economy from the bazaar of the corrupt cabal in the Buhari Presidency
