You’re Part Of Nigeria’s Problems, FG Tells PDP Govs
The Federal Government has tackled governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for comparing the situation of things in Nigeria with Venezuela and said the governors are part of Nigeria’s problems.
PDP governors after their meeting on Monday, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government is impoverishing the people.
“We believed that if we took collective decisions, we should go by it. But certainly, we have seen that it is a free fall for the naira.
“The cost of living is going high, we are almost on the road to Venezuela,” the governors said in a communiqué after the meeting.
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But in a swift response, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, in a statement issued on Tuesday, accused the PDP governors of failing to utilize the increased revenue they collected from the Federation Account to better the lives of Nigerians in their respective states.
“It is on record that most states controlled by PDP owe workers and pensioners months of unpaid salary and pension arrears.
“The PDP governors have defaulted in paying gratuities to their retired workers. It is also a fact that many of the PDP governors have not paid N30,000 minimum wage to their workers since it took effect more than four years ago.
“All of these anomalies in their states contribute significantly to the economic pressure their citizens face,” the minister stated.
He also accused the governors of causing disaffection in the polity, adding that if they were genuinely interested in the living conditions of Nigerians, they should meet their obligations to workers, pensioners, and local contractors and see the multiplier effect.
According to Idris, “It is disappointing that PDP governors talk about rising costs of living and food when they have not done much to increase food production in their states.
“The land in Nigeria belongs to the states, not the Federal Government,” pointing out that they failed in their communique to not tell Nigerians how they were supporting farmers in their states to boost food production.
“Instead, they shift all the blame to the Federal Government, while shirking their own responsibilities to the people they govern,” he said.
The minister stated that the APC-led government of President Bola Tinubu is working assiduously to address the current challenges.
“The president is working with his security chiefs to eliminate all security threats wherever they exist within our borders, and we are getting results in the number of terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers that have either been killed or arrested in the past few weeks.
“The success of the efforts is also reflected in the over 700 abducted Nigerians who have been rescued from captivity,” he added.
The minister also disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is addressing the problem of volatility in the exchange rate, stating that Nigerians are beginning to see stability that would eventually lead to the naira gaining its actual value against the dollar and other convertible currencies.
“We urge the PDP governors to join their colleagues in the Nigerian Governors Forum, who are collaborating with President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to revamp our economy for Nigerians’ collective well-being,” Alhaji Idris pleaded.
