Massive Looting Going On Under Jonathan's Administration; Economy Now Comatose, Says Baraje, New PDP

The chairman of the new Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu
Baraje, has unequivocally condemned the rape of the country's economy
by the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration.
He said that despite claims to the contrary by the government in a
futile bid to deceive Nigerians, the overwhelming evidence is that the
Nigerian economy has been run aground and is now comatose.
The assertions are contained in a statement issued by the faction in
Abuja, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chukwuemeka
Eze.
It drew attention to the massive scale of officially-induced oil
theft, the dwindling returns from oil and massive looting going on at
the federal level as evidence that Nigeria is on the brink of economic
collapse.
"One manifestation of this is the Federal Government's inability to
pay states their share of the Federal Allocation since July. The last
time that states were paid was for part of July."
Baraje further noted that the arrears have continued to mount daily.
"As at today, the states are being owed N336 billion, with the N75
billion being the balance of the July 2013 arrears, N121 billion from
June augmentation and over N90 billion as July augmentation.
"The implication of this unfortunate development is that the 36 states
have become impoverished and unable to meet up with basic obligations,
including the payment of workers' monthly salaries, which many of the
states have been unable to do due to lack of funds."
The nPDP underlined that the States have also been unable to meet
their obligation to contractors, a scenario that is complemented by
the growing rate of unemployment, which presently hovers around 80 per
cent.
"Let us ponder this: If states cannot pay their contractors – not to
talk of entering into new contracts – if states cannot pay their
workers because there is no money to pay them, what could result is a
huge social catastrophe that will add to the social, economic and
political inferno already ravaging Nigeria today.
"All these portend very grave danger for our dear country as youth and
labour restiveness appears imminent."
The party warned Nigerians to expect deterioration in the unemployment
situation which is inevitable should the Federal Government continue
with the present shoddy management of the economy which leaves much
room for abuse.
"Ironically, while the masses suffer, Government officials continue to
feed fat, using various guises to fritter away our common patrimony,"
Baraje adding that their life of opulence has blinded them to the
realities of the monumental suffering to which the masses are being
subjected on a daily basis.
"Where has all the money gone? For an instance, the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) had revealed that the country earned a total of N1.05
trillion in July, but surprisingly, the Minister had not been able to
pay states their due statutory allocations. Where are the billions of
dollars accruable from daily crude oil sales?
"Where are the billions of naira accruable from multiple taxation
which is strangulating struggling businesses on a daily basis? And
where are the billions of dollars which the Jonathan Administration
claims to be saving from one so-called cost-saving measure or the
other? Nigerians can no longer be deceived!"
The party issued the chilling warning: "The truth is that Nigeria is
broke and that worse days are ahead under this inept and visionless
Administration."