From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council ( PCC), yesterday, berated the All Progressives Congress ( APC) over the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS) indicating that 63 per cent of Nigerians have fallen below poverty level.

The campaign organization said it is not surprised that with the NBS report, as it is indicative of the alleged failure of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) led administration in the last seven and half years.

The Director of Strategic Communication, Dele Momodu, who spoke at press conference, on Thursday, in Abuja, stated that the APC could not have not done any better as it allegedly lacked the wherewithal.

Momodu said ” You can’t give what you don’t have. And that is why Atiku Abubakar is the best choice. What he has been able to do in public life, what he has been able to do in private life, when you look at them, you will know that he is the most experienced and prepared candidate in the race today; that is none close to him. He is the one that operated at the national level so he knows what to do immediately.”

Similarly, Phrank Shuaibu, Special Assistant, on Public Communication, to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in a statement,on Thursday, said the latest NBS is a cause for concern.

Shuaibu noted that the rising level of poverty portends a threat to the security and stability of the country.

Related News

“Data after data by governmental and non governmental organisations have underlined the fact that the number of Nigerians living in poverty is alarmingly high but this latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics about the multidimensional height of our poverty level calls for concern, more so that, in Buhari’s Nigeria, there have been no convincing measures being taken to indicate that anything concrete is being done about it.

“Included in this troubling reality is that over 23 million youths, mostly educated and potentially productive, are unemployed. This development portends only one thing: a threat to the security and stability of the Nigerian nation.

“From the monetary perspective, the Central Bank of Nigeria, whose job it is to check inflation claims that it is doing its best to ensure that the overall prices for goods and services remain low, stable and predictable even as records on the ground point to the contrary.

” Although the Buhari administration claims to be empowering potential investors; big and small so as to improve people’s lives, records show that 54.7 percent of Nigerians are financially excluded due to low level bank penetration in the country, and that beside the 916 Microfinance Banks, the 24 ‘big banks’ have only a little over 6000 branches, mostly concentrated in a few urban centres.

“To worsen matters, the social safety net scheme introduced by the federal government in 2016, to tackle poverty and hunger has not made any significant impact owing to poor implementation, corruption allegation and politicization.

“Only a sensible government will reckon that by redirecting public expenditure away from recurrent expenses and unnecessary consumption back to capital projects, the government can have positive impact on incomes and employment. Such newly-employed individuals can in turn pay their bills, rent and essentials, thus providing income to the farmers, herdsmen, landlords and the like,” the statement read in part.