N713.7bn bailout’ll end workers’ misery – APC

John Alechenu, Abuja

the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday said the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to approve a bailout package for states was a demonstration of his non-partisan approach to governance.

The APC hailed the President’s approval of the N713.7bn package which it said was meant to end the suffering of Nigerian workers.

This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja.

He said the President’s action would not only ensure that all arrears of salaries owed public workers by many states across the country were immediately paid, but would also make it easier for them to meet their monthly salary obligations henceforth.

The party said it was particularly delighted that the President had shown that he was truly the father of the nation by shunning partisanship in approving the intervention fund for all the states.

The statement partly read, “We say this because when states were financially handicapped during the tenure of the last Federal Government, opposition states were hung out to dry why states belonging to the then ruling PDP got generous bailouts.

“By his action, President Buhari has practicalised his deep understanding of the essence of governance which, more than anything else, is about the wellbeing of the citizenry.

“Worthy of note and commendation is the fact that the special intervention fund approved by President Buhari was packaged without any external borrowing, despite the paucity of funds occasioned by the fall in the price of crude oil and the unprecedented profligacy of the immediate past administration that dried out the pot of national resources.”

The party explained that so early in the life of his administration, President Buhari “is walking his talk by showing that with prudence, financial discipline, plugging financial leakages and a deep sense of patriotism, even the nation’s dwindling resources can still be more effectively utilised for the benefit of Nigerians, rather than be looted by thieving public officials who abuse their office.”

It described as uncharitable and a clear indication that shame had taken flight from the opposition PDP for daring to accuse the APC administration which “has been clearing the rot left behind by 16 years of PDP’s rule.”