The Peoples Democratic Party has criticized the proposed N27.5 trillion budget for the 2024 fiscal year by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly, calling it deceitful, and saying it has no mechanism for economic recovery.
President Tinubu, on Wednesday
November 29, presented the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’ before a joint session of
the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In a statement signed by its
National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP urged the National
Assembly to reject the appropriation bill saying it would plunge the country
into economic depression, if it's passed into law.
The statement reads:
“The PDP also describes the
claim by President Tinubu that the budget is a Budget of Renewed Hope as
conjured, unfounded and deceptive as the budget is completely devoid of
concrete mechanisms to revive the economy, create jobs, address the comatose
manufacturing and productive sectors, human capital development deficiencies
and depleting life expectancy of Nigeria citizens.
“The 2024 budget is filled with
heavily padded figures, duplicated items and several false statistics including
claims of global increase in inflation rate as excuse for an impending
excruciating increase in taxes and interest rate to the detriment of our
productive sector.
“It is clear that the 2024 budget as proposed with its heavy provisions for luxury appetite of the Presidency and All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders which is predicated and expected to be funded from multilateral and bilateral foreign loans and increased taxes on Nigerians, is designed to further mortgage our nation and strangulate the already impoverished Nigerians.
“The budget framework with
respect to Recurrent Expenditure Vote of N9.9 trillion, Capital Expenditure
Vote of N8.7 trillion and N8.25 trillion for debt services is unsustainable and
unrealizable in view of the stated outstanding debt and proposed borrowing
which is targeted mainly to finance consumption, luxury appetite and debt
servicing.
“The lack of concrete and
verifiable action plans to revive the manufacturing, energy, agricultural and
education sectors which are the main drivers of any economy is a pointer that
the Tinubu-led APC government is bereft of ideas and completely disconnected
from the reality of life being faced by Nigerians.
“It is of grave concern that
the President in the budget speech stated that his government has “adopted a
Naira to US Dollar exchange rate of N750 per US Dollar for 2024”.
“This is a clear admission of
failure, incapacity and lack of direction by the APC administration to manage
and grow the economy in such a way as to strengthen the national currency,
productivity and competitiveness in the global market.
“It has further confirmed that
the numerous promises by the President and officials of his government
asserting a monetary policy to strengthen the Naira have been a deceptive ploy
which is consistent with the APC in the past eight and half years.
“By adopting a defeatist N750
per US Dollar exchange rate, President Tinubu has further plunged our economy
into the abyss, weakened our productive sector, wrecked the purchasing power of
Nigerians and the capacity of the youths to be creative, recognizing that it
will be almost impossible for Small and Medium Enterprises as well as Startups
to access capital under such a suffocating budget.
“Every responsible leadership
strives to work and defend its national currency. Unfortunately, the Tinubu-led
government has surrendered our nation currency and pride to the whims and
caprices of the so-called ‘market forces’.
“The PDP insists that with a
transparent, honest and innovative management of resources and economic potentials
of the nation; without inordinate pursuit of luxury consumption by a few
individuals in leadership position, as being witnessed under the APC, the
economy will witness a rapid turn-around and the Naira strengthened to its
value of below N200 per US Dollar bequeathed by the PDP to the APC in 2015.
“This 2024 budget as presented
by President Tinubu therefore represents hopelessness for Nigerians. It is
pathetic that the President whose main duty is to provide for the security and
welfare of Nigerians as provided for in Section 14 (2) (b) of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) could present a budget
that is not geared towards the attainment of that Constitutional duty imposed
on him.
“The PDP calls on the National
Assembly pursuant to its Constitutional duty under Section 80, 81 and 82 of the
1999 Constitution to reject the 2024 budget as presented and use its
legislative powers to disassemble the budget and make provisions that are
critical and pivotal to the growth of the economy and the welfare of
Nigerians.”
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