The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) on Wednesday blasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for calling the 2016 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday by President Muhammadu Buhari a big fraud.
CNPP accused the PDP of jumping to criticise the government without carefully perusing the content of the bill.
This was disclosed in a statement through the body’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechkwu, who queried the moral right the -PDP had to call the budget names, when the government under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan allegedly squandered billions.
The statement read: “It’s either the PDP or their spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, did not peruse the President’s budget address before dishing out the tantrum. While one acknowledges criticism from the opposition, the best tradition requires that criticism should be constructive.
“One is of the considered view that the PDP has not come to terms with the havoc unbridled corruption and squandermania under former President Goodluck Jonathan did to the development of our country. PDP forgot that the billions it squandered via unbridled corruption and awful leakages made it impossible for the party to provide critical infrastructure in the last 16 years to Nigerians.
“Transparency and accountability is the key to the implementation of Buhari’s budget of change. History is a witness to what prudent administration can achieve with little resource.”
On the issue of the possibility of excessive taxation, Okechukwu said: “I don’t have fears that Buhari will engage in excessive taxation. He is a man of the people.
“As one said earlier, the bulk of the budget will be funded by plugging leakages in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). For instance, under Col. Hammeed Ali (rtd), the Nigeria Customs Service will post more revenues and so is Federal Inland Revenue Service under Mr. Fowler. This is the change we are talking about.”
