The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has described as “irresponsible” the planned selling of national assets to fund the 2019 budget.
Mr. Abubakar, who spoke through his campaign office in Abuja, said the action has exposed President Muhammadu Buhari to ridicule.
The former vice president drew attention to an address at the 75th Anniversary lecture of the Island Club, Lagos, where Mr. Buhari criticised the PDP for destroying the country.
He argued that some of the assets listed for sale by the Buhari administration were built between 1999 and 2007 by the PDP administrations.
Mr. Atiku insisted he conceived the development of some of the assets the All Progressives Congress (APC) is marking down for disposal.
“If the PDP did not build infrastructure, as alleged by President Muhammadu Buhari, who built these assets that his administration wants to sell to fund their 2019 budget,” the former vice president said.
As head of the Economic Management Committee during the Obasanjo administration, Mr. Atiku said he drew the long-term strategy to engender efficiency in the economic system and expand the frontiers of private sector activity.
“Its primary goal is not to raise money for short-term stabilisation of what is clearly a fragile fiscal system. The government’s planned sale of assets will cause long-term pains and only provide short-term gains.
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“It makes no sense to sell public assets simply to fund a ‘business-as-usual’ budget that is essentially 70 per cent recurrent. It is irresponsible to part with valuable assets simply to consume the proceeds. It’s like selling your family house to take a trip overseas on holiday,” Mr. Abubakar said.
The former vice president said what is needed to grow and stabilize the nation’s economy is fiscal restructuring to eliminate addiction to oil revenues.
He also called for the strengthening of internal revenue generating capacity and a restructuring of the budget in favour of capital spending.
“For instance, last month, I questioned the wisdom behind the Federal Government sharing $322 million Abacha loot to certain Nigerians, only to obtain a $328 million loan from China, allegedly for ICT development.
“Rather than share that money, the Buhari administration ought to have put that $322 million in an escrow account to be used for funding the 2019 budget.
“Also, we recall that $43 million was found in an Ikoyi apartment. While we note the failed promise of the Buhari administration to come clean on who was behind those monies, we make bold to say that those funds should equally have been placed in escrow for use in funding the 2019 budget,” Mr. Abubakar said.
Continuing, the former vice president said creating more of such assets is at the core of his agenda to Get Nigeria Working Again.
“It is our hope that the Buhari government will accept this patriotic pro bono advise and retrace its step accordingly,” he concluded.
