The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State on Sunday clashed over the N35bn bond the government intends to access from the capital markets.
While the PDP accused Governor of the State, Adulrahman Abdulrazaq, of planning to subject Kwarans and future generations to undue burden, the APC criticized the opposition of playing politics with the issue.
In a statement issued in Ilorin on Sunday, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary in the State, Tunde Ashaolu, asked the governor to immediately drop the idea of the N35billion bond, adding that such ‘reckless move’ would weaken and plunge the state into an uncontrollable debt profile.
The party regretted that the economy of the state had become weak and fragile in the last two years of AbdulRazaq’s administration and warned that taking the bond would hamper the state’s capacity to meet future obligations.
The opposition said the public outcry that had greeted the government’s planned borrowing had shown that the majority of Kwarans were not in support of the government’s plan.
The PDP noted that though it was not against borrowing to fund infrastructure, “the State government has however not demonstrated any sincerity, transparency and accountability on the issue as the whole process has been shrouded in secrecy.
“More worrisome is that the government is driving the process through an unregistered company and unknown individuals.
“Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq should not subject the citizens and future generations of the state to undue debt burden”, the party noted.
But reacting to the issue, the Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Samari, told Daily Trust in a telephone chat that the PDP was not being sincere with its criticism, adding that the party is playing politics with the issue.
According to Samari, the PDP is crying more than the bereaved.
He added that the governor is focused and will not be distracted at this stage of his administration with the zeal and determination to better the lots of Kwarans.
“The PDP is just playing politics with the issue with even those things that will improve the lot of Kwarans. They are not being sincere.
“Governor Abdulrahman is focused and will not be involved in any wasteful venture. So, they should wait and see what the governor will use this money for.
“Mind you, we have the possibility of another term and if the masses are not satisfied with what the governor is doing, the effect will be there.
“But I want to assure the masses that the governor knows what he is doing and very committed to improving the lives of Kwarans,” Samari added.
