The party, as part of its campaign promises, prior to the GC 28 presidential election, had vowed to initiate a social welfare programme that would pay at least N5,000 to 25 million poorest and most vulnerable citizens, which would be tied to the demonstration of their children’s enrollment in school and evidence of immunisation to help promote family stability.
It also promised to pay N5, 000 allowance to unemployed university graduates after concluding the National Youth Service Corps programme without securing a job.
The party further promised to provide one meal a day for primary school pupils as part of its programme to encourage school enrolment.
However, APC senators during the week shot down a motion by Mr. Phillip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party urging Buhari’s administration to fulfil the campaign promise to pay N5, 000 allowances to unemployed youths.
In view of this, opposition parties, civil society organisations and youths, among other Nigerians, described the action of the APC senators as a sign that Buhari’s administration would not fulfil his other promises, especially the vow to N5, 000 monthly to each of the country’s 25 million most vulnerable people.
Going by its promise to assist 25 million indigent Nigerians, the administration will spend N125bn (that is, N5, 000 x 25 million) in the first month of commencement of the programme.
In a year, it will spend N1.5tn (N125bn x 12) on the programme and in four years, when the administration would be ending its tenure, a total of N6tn (N1.5tn x 4) would have been spent on the programme – an amount that is N1.6tn higher than the country’s annual budget for 2014.
While the APC senators are believed to have opposed the motion calling for payment of stipend to unemployment youths because of the financial state of the nation, opposition parties, CSOs, the labour union and youths are asking Buhari not to renege on the promise.
While the initial promise by the party was to pay N5, 000 monthly to 25 million most vulnerable Nigerians, Buhari’s running mate at the last presidential election, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (now Vice President), said during a TV programme, that the payment would be done in batches of 5 million beneficiaries annually.
“We will give N5, 000 to the poorest 25 million over a phased period, if their children are enrolled in school and participate in immunisation,” he said.
Osinbajo said it would cost about N1.35tn to pay all 25 million people at once, which he said made the party decide on paying in batches of five million people a year, adding that the party could do more “depending on resources.”
The PDP had described the rejection of the N5, 000 monthly stipend for the unemployed youths by the APC senators as a sign that it never meant to keep any of its promises.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, described the APC as a “party of hypocrites.”
He claimed that the party did not have the intention of honouring any of its campaign promises.
Metuh said, “The PDP declares that it is absolutely obvious to all that the APC came to power riding on monumental lies and deceit in making promises they had no intention to keep.”
In the same vein, the National Secretary of the Labour Party, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, expressed doubt that the APC would honour its promise to indigent Nigerians, saying it had so far shown a propensity to break promises.
He described Buhari’s recent claim that Nigeria was broke as a ploy by his administration to abandon its responsibilities.
Source: The Punch
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