The All Progressives Congress has reacted to accusations by senators of the Peoples Democratic Party that it may have reneged on a campaign promise to pay 5,000 naira monthly to unemployed youths in the country.
In a statement in Abuja on Friday, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC and minister-designate, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is putting modalities in place to implement the project.
He said the delay in implementing the project was caused by the fact that the 2015 budget drawn up by the PDP-led administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan did not make provision for it.
The APC appealed to Nigerians to shun any mischievous attempt by the PDP to mislead and confuse them on the matter.
“Now, the Buhari administration has been busy putting into place measures that will make it possible to start the implementation of this project. Such measures include the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
“We are happy to inform Nigerians that as at the end of September 2015, over 1.4 trillion Naira – which hitherto was lying unproductively in various commercial banks – has been recovered and paid into the TSA.
“Had the PDP not sacrificed the truth on the altar of political expediency, it would have realized that the APC never at any time indicated it has reneged on its promise to pay 5,000 Naira monthly to 25 million most vulnerable Nigerians.
“In our press statement of Aug. 30th 2015, we still reiterated our plan to redeem our campaign promises, including the social security payment policy, despite the primitive looting of the treasury under the watch of the PDP.
“It is therefore astonishing that the same PDP, which is becoming more and more infamous for its penchant for peddling half-truths and sensationalizing every issue, will rush to the press to celebrate the figment of its imagination that the APC will not fulfil its campaign promise regarding the payment,” the statement said.
The APC said that the Buhari administration is also embarking on a massive infrastructure renewal programme in the areas of roads, rail and power, for which a 2.5-billion-dollar Infrastructure Fund is being put in place.
”Contrary to the disinformation being peddled by the PDP, the Buhari administration is poised to lift millions of Nigerians out of extreme poverty by providing social protection and safety nets with another 2.5 trillion Naira Special Intervention Fund,” the APC stressed.