The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lambasted the Presidency for appropriating the achievements of the National Assembly and listing them as those of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The main opposition party said the recent attempt by the Presidency to “ascribe credit to Buhari for the recent amendments to the constitution granting financial autonomy to state assemblies and judiciaries” was despicable.
The party stressed that neither the “Presidency nor the President himself, made any input in support of these amendments.”
A statement by PDP’s spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan alleged that the Buhari government was full of lies.
The statement reads, “Equally appalling is that the Presidency is still listing the passage of the “Not Too Young to Run” law as an achievement of the President even when he had no input whatsoever in the initiative.
“It is instructive to note that none of the amendments stem from any executive bill and that the Buhari Presidency has never initiated any programme to enhance the course of governance in our country in the last three years.
“Nigerians already know that the Buhari administration has not implemented a single project or programme in any part of the country in the last three years of governance, but always resorting to lies, blame passing, beguilments, deception and contrivance.
“Instead of seeking ways to mitigate the situation, Mr. President’s handlers are subjecting him to more public ridicule of commissioning projects executed by other leaders such as his embarrassing commissioning of a regular bus stop constructed by Lagos state and a water borehole in Jigawa while posturing for photo-ops to hoodwink Nigerians.
“In fact, this clear attempt by the Presidency to claim credit for the achievement of the National Assembly has further confirms PDP’s earlier alert to Nigerians of plans by the Presidency to dish out fictitious achievements and false performance indices to deceive Nigerians ahead of 2019 general election.”
PDP, however, commended the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly for their resilience in “enhancing our democratic practice as consolidated by successive PDP administrations, despite the unrelenting assault on the institution of the legislature by the Buhari administration.”
The main opposition party said the presidency and “dysfunctional” All Progressives Congress (APC) should “end their proclivity for deception as such gimmicks cannot save them in 2019”.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Barrister Gboyega Oguntuase has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the governorship poll, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to explain how he spent statutory allocations and other funds that accrued to his government between 2010 and 2014.
Oguntuase said documents from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics, among others, show that Fayemi collected a total of N165billion as allocations, excluding regular funds from Excess Crude Account, grants, internally-generated revenues, among others, but Fayemi still took N25billion bond and N35billion commercial loans with nothing to show for the funds.
The PDP chairman, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, also said that the Ayodele Fayose-led administration had done creditably well despite the lean resources at its disposal.
“In 2011, Fayemi got N40.5billion as monthly statutory allocations. In 2012, he got N39.8billion. In 2013, he got N44.3billion and in 2014, he got N40.1billion. Whereas, the Fayose administration got N28.2billion in 2015, N18.8billion in 2016, and N25.6billion in 2017.
“Apart from the above monthly allocations, Fayemi still got regular funds from the Excess Crude Oil Account, IGR, among others. Despite what Fayemi got, he still borrowed N25billion from the Capital Market and took N31billion commercial loans. The question is, what did he do with the money? Nothing.
“The N25billion bond and commercial loans, through which he mortgaged the finances of our dear state for 20 years, were spent on nothing. He proposed an event centre, it was never completed. He said he would build a new Governor’s Office, he only scraped a parcel of land near the House of Assembly Complex and did nothing. His new Ojaba Market, for which he erected a billboard at the entrance of the palace of Ewi, never saw the light of the day.
“His flyover only existed in his tummy. He half-completed a state pavilion and squandered the state’s resources on frivolities. If he stopped at that it would have been better, but he went ahead to divert state funds”.
An example is the N850million given the state by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Abuja which he diverted leading to the suspension of Ekiti State from the commission’s funding for years,” he said.
Oguntuase said in contrast to Fayemi’s waste of resources, the Fayose administration, in which Olusola is the deputy governor, had been prudent.
“The table of funds received by Fayemi and Fayose given above are public documents available in the offices of the NBS, OAGF and even on their websites. People can go there and access. Moreover, people can see what the Fayose administration has done with the meagre resources at its disposal.”
A new Governor’s Office, new High Court Complex, Adunni Olayinka Women Development Centre, a flyover have been built. A new Ojaba Market is almost completed. Roads in Emure, Ise, Efon, Ijero, Omuo, Afao, Ilawe, Ikere, Ikole etc have been dualised. Car Wash- Afao Road built, same for Dehead-Police Headquarters Road, among others.
“The teachers Fayemi planned to sack through a vindictive test have been motivated and our state now ranks first in public examinations in the federation. This is the good trend that Prof Kolapo Olusola will continue with when elected governor. Fayemi and the APC have nothing good to offer the people of the state,” he added.