The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the reduction of the 2020 budgetary allocations for basic health care and the Universal Basic Education (UBE).
In the revised 2020 budget, money originally budgeted for basic health care was slashed from N44.4 billion to N25.5b, while UBE allocation was reduced from N111.7 billion to N51.1 billion by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The party in a statement on Wednesday issued by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, noted that the cut showed the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
It described as scandalous the allocation of more funds to the renovation of the National Assembly than the health and education sectors.
The PDP charged the President to again reverse the budget to give priority to the welfare and development of Nigerians by cutting the size of his government, and reducing its luxuries.
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The statement partly read: “The PDP insists that in slashing the budget for the primary health need of the people to N25.5 billion (a 42% cut) and UBE budget to N51.1 billion (a 54% cut), in a country of over 200 million people, who are already economically overburdened, the APC and its administration have further exposed that they have never had the welfare of Nigerians at heart.
“The party said no government, which genuinely means well for its citizens, will vote a paltry N25.5 billion for basic health care for 200 million people in 774 local governments, particularly at this time our nation is facing huge health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, while allocating a bigger sum of N27.7 billion for renovation of the National Assembly complex, which is not even in a distress state.
“While the PDP has nothing against any effort to improve on the working condition of our federal legislature, placing the renovation of the National Assembly complex above health care at this critical time is a scandalous misplacement of national priority by President Buhari and APC Presiding officers.
“Moreover, the slashing of the budget, for basic education despite the poor state of the sector since the last five years, shows that the APC administration has no value for education and prefers to draw our nation back in global competitiveness in critical sectors.
“The PDP therefore charges President Buhari to prioritize the welfare and development of Nigerians by cutting the size of his government, clipping its luxuries, curbing the unbridled corruption by APC leaders so as to make more resources available for the health and education need of our citizens.”
