By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, of hypocrisy over his warning on Nigeria’s rising debt, saying he lacks the moral right to complain after approving President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing requests.
PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, spoke exclusively to Vanguard in Abuja on Monday, stressing that both Abbas and Senate President Godswill Akpabio were complicit in plunging the country into a N149 trillion debt crisis.
“I am not surprised that Tajudeen Abbas, one of the ‘sidekicks’ of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been complicit in burying the economic fortunes of Nigeria beyond imaginable depth. He himself and his accomplice in borrowing approval, Senator Godswill Akpabio, should bury their heads in shame when issues like this come up,” Osadolor said.
He argued that Abbas could not on one hand, approve loans for President Tinubu and, on the other hand lament that the debt ceiling had been breached, warning that such double standards were dangerous for Nigeria’s future generations.
“Tajudeen Abbas cannot, on one hand, approve loans for President Tinubu, and on the other hand, complain that the debt ceiling has been shattered and it is endangering the future generations of this country. If he doesn’t have the moral spine and fibre to tell President Tinubu ‘no’, then he should do the humble thing and resign,” Osadolor said.
The PDP chieftain recalled that under the leadership of former Senate President Bukola Saraki, the National Assembly resisted excessive borrowing by the Buhari administration, unlike the current legislature which he described as a ‘rubber stamp.’
“If they take a look back at the Bukola Saraki Senate Presidency, you will realise that this is a sick joke compared to the way Saraki ran the National Assembly and resisted the borrowing efforts of the Buhari government,” he added.
Osadolor urged Abbas to prioritise the interest of Nigerians, apologise to citizens for his complicity, and step aside if he could not stand up to the executive.
“I urge him to put the interests of Nigerians first and realise that we cannot continue under this yoke of poverty that this debt is putting us under. Since he has realised that what they are doing is endangering the future of Nigerians, the honourable thing is to apologise and resign,” he said.
The PDP youth leader also accused the ruling party of double-speak, alleging that Abbas’s alarm on debt was an admission that the Tinubu administration had failed.
Turning to solutions, Osadolor said Nigeria must build strong institutions instead of relying on ‘strong men,’ stressing that independence of the legislature was critical for fiscal responsibility.
“When next we elect officers of the National Assembly, we must insist on them choosing their own leaders rather than being hand-picked from the Villa. That way, they will have the courage to do what is right,” he explained.
He further called for regulatory and procurement agencies to live up to their responsibilities, noting that Nigeria had enough institutions on paper but lacked effective implementation.
“We have more than enough regulatory agencies. It’s just that none of them is alive to their responsibilities. What we need are men of character with fiscal discipline and the moral fibre to say yes when necessary and no when necessary,” he added.
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