The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the failure of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government to pay federal workers’ December salaries.
This, according to the PDP, demonstrates the administration’s intention to delay and inflict agony on Nigerians.
The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, stated this in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.
The Party points out that it did not “discharge such sensitive obligation to workers, especially at this yuletide period as unacceptable and further shows the level of insensitivity of the Tinubu-led APC administration towards the welfare of Nigerians.”
Ologunagba said, “By this action, the Tinubu administration has practically turned our nation into a huge Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp with millions of Nigerians becoming beggars and observing the period in hunger, anguish and misery.
“It is obvious that the non-payment of the December salary critically needed by the workers including our gallant security operatives at this period is consistent with the atrocious character of APC administration to weaponize poverty and further suppress Nigerians to surrender to totalitarianism.
“Is it not provocative that while President Tinubu is busy partying and luxuriating with APC leaders, workers who are putting in their time and energy in the service of the nation are left with nothing to feed and celebrate with their families and loved ones?
“Sadly, President Tinubu would rather approve the frittering of our nation’s scarce resources to sponsor cronies, political minions, hangers-on and their mistresses to expensive foreign trips while making no provision for the salary of genuine government workers.
“Such heartless act by the anti-people APC administration never happened in the 16 years of the PDP in government as workers then promptly received their December salary before Christmas day (25th) to enable them to celebrate yuletide and end of year festivities with their loved ones.
“More distressing is that the Tinubu Presidency can afford to withhold salaries even after approving the unbearable increase in the pump price of fuel to over N700 per litre, with the attendant high cost of food, transportation, medication and other necessities of life.
“It is instructive to remind Nigerians that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) had earlier this month announced that it shared a total of N1.783 trillion to Federal, State and Local Governments for December 2023, yet workers have not been paid because no cash backing was effected by the Tinubu administration despite huge resources accruable to it. We ask, where is the money?
“Our Party is appalled by the level of profligacy apparent in the APC administration whose actions and policies are skewed towards the promotion and institutionalization of corruption, deprivation and suppression of Nigerians.
“Nigerians will recall that earlier in August, the PDP alerted that our nation’s economy was asphyxiating and grinding to a halt under the increasingly corrupt APC and President Tinubu’s crippling economic policies with a consequential negative toll on productivity.”
He further stated, “The failure to pay December salary of workers further confirms that the Tinubu-led APC administration has practically run our nation’s economy aground with its corruption, recklessness and ill-informed counter-productive policies.
“The PDP demands that President Tinubu immediately account for the trillions of naira accruable from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products in the last seven months.
“Furthermore, the President is requested to come clean on the December 2023 distributable Statutory Revenue of N376.306 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) Revenue of N335.656 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy Revenue of N11.952 billion and Exchange Difference Revenue of N364.869 billion as contained in the communique issued by FAAC at its December 2023 meeting.
“The PDP demands the immediate payment of the December salary of workers and additional compensatory payment of at least 50% of the salary of workers to cushion the effect of the economic hardship foisted on them by the APC administration.
“President Tinubu must understand that Nigeria is a Federation that must only be governed by the Constitution and the Rule of Law and not by the whims and caprices of an individual or group.”