PDP Reacts To Buhari Govt Plan To Get $500m Loan For NTA

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed for seeking a $500 million dollars (N182 billion) loan to upgrade the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

Naija News recalls that Alhaji Lai Mohammed had said NTA will compete favourably with the likes of Cable News Network (CNN) if the $500 million loan his ministry is seeking is approved.

The Minister was quoted by The Guardian to have said this when he appeared before the senate committee on local and foreign loans.

This online news platform understands the $500 million loan request is part of the $30 billion loan request sent to the National Assembly for approval by President Muhammadu Buhari last year.

Reacting in a statement through Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary, the PDP called on the National Assembly to reject the request by the federal government.

The main opposition party stated that such request will plunge Nigeria into more debt through his request for an additional $29.9 billion dollars loan.

The statement reads in part: “The PDP alerts that the request for the approval of $500 million is aimed at setting the stage for further fleecing of our nation’s economy as the Federal Government under the Buhari administration has shown no commitment towards nation-building, transparency and accountability in governance.

“Moreover, the Federal Government has failed to present details of the requested $29.9 billion dollars loan in which the $500 million being requested by the Minister of Information and Culture is embedded; a development that points to nothing but the corruption in the Buhari administration.

“While counselling the Minister to perish the thoughts of $500 million, the PDP charges him to use his appearance at the National Assembly to give account of the funds so far released to the Ministry of Information and Culture which has been plagued by cases and allegations of corruption under his watch.”