The recently proposed N16.39 budget for the 2022 fiscal year by President Muhammadu Buhari has been described as “uninspiring” by the Leader of the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu.
Elumelu said that the presented budget “bears no solution” to the problems Nigeria is embroiled in under the leadership of the Buhari administration.
He said this on Thursday at the 94th National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretariat in Abuja.
He also condemned the state of the economy, describing the mood of the economy and the challenges the average Nigerian faced.
Elumelu said, “Earlier today, Mr. President presented an uninspiring N16 trillion 2022 budget that bears no solutions to the challenges facing the nation under his watch. Our caucus assures that we will do all it takes to lobby for the redirection of the budget for the benefit of Nigerians.
“The recent political reports and speculations on the PDP have generated widespread public debates regarding the direction of our great party ahead of our National Convention and of course, the 2023 general elections.
“Such public interest in activities in our party strongly points to the enormity of the confidence Nigerians repose on the PDP as their only hope to end their sufferings, agony and despair under the horrifying misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government.
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“But more importantly, the situation highlights the anxieties by our compatriots in their demands that we get it right at this point for the task ahead.
“Leaders of our party, as we speak, innocent and defenseless Nigerians are being killed on daily basis by terrorists and bandits. Our citizens can no longer move freely across their country. The current cold-blood killings in the southeast and other parts of the nation further underscore the dire situation we face under the APC.
“Today, our economy is in shambles; there is anger, frustration and hopelessness everywhere. Most Nigerians families can no longer afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life; they go to bed on empty stomach and wake up with no hope of breakfast or even lunch.
“Our productive sectors have been wrecked by the APC. Millions of our brilliant and inventive youths have been denied opportunities to engage their creative minds in fruitful ventures. When they speak out, they are branded, hounded and even killed. Their only hope of survival is to have the PDP back in power.
“It is even more distressing that the President Buhari-led APC administration has continued in false claims and empty promises as witnessed in Mr. President’s address at the 76th United Nation General Assembly, where, contrary to the ugly reality on the ground, he claimed that his administration had weakened insurgents, built isolation centers and emergency hospital wards, all over the country in the fight against Covid-19, and had been steadfast in safeguarding human rights in Nigeria.”
