PDP blasts Tinubu for not paying workers’ salary, calls him a dictator

The opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has slammed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for failing to pay the December salary of workers, saying that he has turned Nigeria into a “huge IDP camp” and a “totalitarian state”.

In a press statement issued on Friday, the PDP accused the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of being insensitive, heartless and corrupt, and of inflicting pain and misery on Nigerians, especially during the festive season.

The PDP said that the non-payment of salary was a deliberate attempt by the APC to “weaponize poverty” and force Nigerians to surrender to their oppressive rule. The party also lamented that while Tinubu was “partying and luxuriating” with his cronies, workers who serve the nation were left with nothing to feed and celebrate with their families.

The PDP also criticized Tinubu for wasting the nation’s scarce resources on sponsoring his political allies and mistresses to expensive foreign trips, while neglecting the welfare of genuine government workers. The party claimed that such a thing never happened during its 16 years in power, when workers received their December salary before Christmas day.

The PDP further expressed its dismay that Tinubu could withhold salaries even after increasing the pump price of fuel to over N700 per liter, which has led to a high cost of living for Nigerians. The party reminded Nigerians that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) had announced that it shared N1.783 trillion to the three tiers of government for December 2023, yet workers have not been paid because the Tinubu administration did not provide cash backing.

The PDP said that the Tinubu administration was profligate, corrupt and incompetent, and that its policies were detrimental to the nation’s economy and productivity. The party recalled that it had warned Nigerians in August that the economy was collapsing under the APC and Tinubu’s mismanagement.

The PDP demanded that Tinubu should immediately account for the trillions of naira that he had collected from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products in the last seven months. The party also called for the immediate payment of workers’ salary, as well as an additional 50% compensatory pay for the hardship they have endured.

“Is it not provocative that while President Tinubu is busy partying and luxuriating with APC leaders, workers who are putting in their time and energy in the service of the nation are left with nothing to feed and celebrate with their families and loved ones?”, the PDP asked.

“Sadly, President Tinubu would rather approve the frittering of our nation’s scarce resources to sponsor cronies, political minions, hangers-on and their mistresses to expensive foreign trips while making no provision for the salary of genuine government workers”, the PDP added.

“Such heartless act by the anti-people APC administration never happened in the 16 years of the PDP in government as workers then promptly received their December salary before Christmas day (25th) to enable them celebrate yuletide and end of year festivities with their loved ones.

“More distressing is that the Tinubu Presidency can afford to withhold salaries even after approving the unbearable increase in the pump price of fuel to over N700 per liter, with attendant high cost of food, transportation, medication and other basic necessities of life.

“It is instructive to remind Nigerians that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) had earlier this month announced that it shared a total of N1.783 trillion to Federal, State and Local Governments for December 2023, yet workers have not been paid because no cash backing was effected by the Tinubu administration despite huge resources accruable to it. We ask, where is the money?

“Our Party is appalled by the level of profligacy apparent in the APC administration whose actions and policies are skewed towards the promotion and institutionalization of corruption, deprivation and suppression of Nigerians.

“Nigerians will recall that earlier in August, the PDP alerted that our nation’s economy was asphyxiating and grinding to a halt under the increasingly corrupt APC and President Tinubu’s crippling economic policies with consequential negative toll on productivity.

“The failure to pay December salary of workers further confirms that the Tinubu-led APC administration has practically ran our nation’s economy aground with its corruption, recklessness and ill-informed counter-productive policies.

“The PDP demands that President Tinubu immediately account for the trillions of naira accruable from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products in the last seven months,” the statement added.