ADC further added that rather than stand on the side of the people, Speaker, Abbas chose to be politically expedient.
By Kehinde Okeowo
African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Tuesday slammed the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, after he withdrew his earlier comment on Nigeria’s rising debt profile.
The party berated the federal lawmaker in a statement issued by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi.
Abass had earlier raised an alarm, saying Nigeria’s debt profile has exceeded the country’s legal threshold and now poses a major threat to fiscal sustainability.
However, moments later, the Speaker withdrew the remarks, insisting it was taken out of context.
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Reacting to his decision to withdraw his statement, the ADC said Abbas’s initial admission that the country’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio had crossed statutory limits and now stands at 52 percent was a rare moment of honesty.
It, however, lamented that recanting the remarks later, showed political cowardice and legislative complicity.
ADC further accused Abbas of choosing to be politically expedient, instead of standing on the side of the people.
Abdullahi said, “Like a flame in the wind, the Speaker’s statement offered a momentary flicker of the truth, only to be quickly doused by political expediency.
“Rather than standing by his remarks and on the side of the people, he chose to play safe and be politically correct.”
