PDP to Osinbajo: APC-led states incurred greater part of Nigeria’s $63.7b debt

The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday berated the Vice President-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for not being sincere enough to tell Nigerians that the greater part of the $63.7 billion debt incurred by the outgoing Federal Government was from All Progressives Congress-controlled states.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, pointed out that Osinbajo’s statement was a further attempt by the incoming APC administration to discredit the PDP.
Osinbajo, it would be recalled, had few days ago said the outgoing PDP-led Federal Government is leaving a huge debt for the incoming government.
However, the PDP insisted that it was a misrepresentation of fact.
According to the PDP: “It is indeed unfortunate that the Vice President-elect, who has the details of the debt stock, chose to be economical with the truth and to mislead Nigerians just to discredit the current PDP-led administration and rationalize APC’s unpreparedness for governance.”
Osinbajo, the party said, was aware that the $63.7 billion is made up of external and domestic debts belonging not only to the Federal Government but to federal and state governments, which it noted accumulated since the 1960s.
The party said: “Yet he (Osinbajo) deliberately misrepresented the facts to give the unsuspecting public the impression that the amount was exclusively incurred by the current Federal Government.
“Perhaps the Vice President-elect avoided the details so as not to expose the fact that the APC controlled Lagos state has both the highest external debt stock of $1,169, billion as well as the highest domestic debt stock of N278, 867 billion.”
The party declared that it is also on record that part of the contemporary borrowing from the domestic bond market was occasioned by the global economic and financial crisis as well as the downturn in crude oil revenue, which adversely affected other economies of the world.
The party told the incoming administration to desist from dwelling on excuses and prepare how to deliver on it campaign promises.
It wondered whether the APC and the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, did not know about the economic challenges caused by the dwindling oil revenues before making their bogus promises to Nigerians.
Accordingly, the PDP said: “The APC must fulfill its promises for which Nigerians voted for them.
“Were they not aware of the debt stock and the dwindling oil revenues before making their huge promises to the people?
“Were the promises only intended as carrots to mislead the people and deceitfully win their votes after which they are dumped?”
The party said the incoming administration should stop contriving excuses and understand that Nigerians expect nothing short of the fulfillment of its campaign promises in its four years rule, especially given that the solid foundation for wealth creation has already been laid by the PDP, which also remained truthful and honest in making promises to the people during the campaigns.
It reminded the APC that 25 million poor Nigerians as well as discharged but yet to be employed youth corps members are expecting their monthly N5,000 allowances from the end of June, as should as well be ready to commence delivery of free meals to school children.