Following the Federal Government’s proposal for a N3tn budget to meet the funding provisions of the incremental fuel subsidy request in the 2022 appropriation act, the Peoples Democratic Party has urged the National Assembly to reject any amendments to the 2022 Appropriation Act regarding the N2.557tn addition for fuel subsidy.
This is as it alleged that the APC-led government is hatching a plot to siphon funds ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, disclosed this in a statement signed late Thursday titled, ‘2023: PDP exposes APC, FG over N3 trillion fuel subsidy scam’.
According to Ologunagba, “While the PDP is not against subsidising petroleum products for Nigerians, our Party rejects this wicked plot by the APC government to use a heavily padded fuel subsidy claims to surreptitiously funnel trillions of naira into the pockets of corrupt APC leaders and their cronies in government ahead of their exit in 2023.
“The PDP demands full disclosure of specifics of the subsidy templates, including details of the cost of importation of petroleum products into the country to warrant the additional N2.557tn being requested by the corrupt APC administration.
“The PDP calls on the National Assembly to stand with the people and reject the scandalous N2.557tn addition for fuel subsidy at this critical time as approving such would be a great and unpardonable disservice to Nigerians.”
The main opposition party claimed it has information of how APC leaders pushed for the additional N2.557tn to the N443bn already approved for fuel subsidy in the 2022 budget to create a surplus as a slush fund for APC leaders to rig the 2023 elections.
It said the APC government cannot justify the proposed increase in fuel subsidy in the face of incontrovertible evidence of slowing economy and consequential decrease in consumption of petroleum products in Nigeria primarily due to the “rudderless, irresponsible and insensitive economic policies of the APC as well as the adverse effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
It further warned that Nigerians have already noted that the proposed increase is consistent with APC’s typical padding of fuel subsidy ahead of every election cycle.
“Is it not revealing that while fuel subsidy was N24bn in 2016 and rose to N144.53bn in 2017, it spiked to N878bn in 2018 ahead of the 2019 elections; remained at N551.22bn in the election year of 2019, only to drop to N102bn in 2020, after the elections?
“It is clear that the APC increased fuel subsidy to N1.4tn in 2021. It now barefacedly seeks an additional N2.557tn to have a cumulative subsidy bill of N3tn in 2022 to prosecute the 2023 elections, having realised that it has a tough battle with Nigerians because of its monumental failures.
“It is even more disturbing that the proposed increase is to be funded through external borrowings, which will further impoverish Nigerians, mortgage the future of our nation and burden future generations of Nigerians to finance the insatiable greed of APC leaders,” the statement added.
The PDP said it rejects the bandying of “heavily doctored figures” by the APC government.
Therefore, it challenged the APC to present the details of importation costs to Nigerians, saying no genuine pricing template can support such criminal increase in fuel subsidy beyond the appropriate pricing that experts posit cannot be above N500bn.
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