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After All Progressives Congress (APC) senators on Wednesday rejected the payment of N5000 monthly stipend to unemployed youths as contained in the party’s campaign promises in the build up to the election that brought it to power, there has been outrage and claims that the party was turning its back on its campaign promises.
But on Friday, the party assured Nigerians that it will not renege on its campaign promise to pay the sum of money monthly to 25 million most vulnerable Nigerians
The party accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of a mischievous attempt to confuse and mislead Nigerians on the issue.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said even though the PDP-led Federal Government plundered the common wealth in its time, it (APC) has devised creative means not only to pay the money but also to fulfill its other campaign
promises to Nigerians.
It said the non-implementation of the payment policy so far is due to the fact that it was not included in the 2015 budget, which was prepared by the PDP-led Jonathan Administration, and also because of the need to first block all financial leakages.
He said: “Now, the Buhari administration has been busy putting into place measures that will make it possible to start the implementation of this project. Such measures include the introduction
of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
”We are happy to inform Nigerians that as of the end of September 2015, over 1.4 trillion Naira – which hitherto was lying unproductively in various commercial banks – has been recovered
and paid into the TSA,”
The party said accused the PDP of jumping to conclusions without bothering to hear from the APC, which made the promise in the first instance.