"Why We Booed Buhari" — Minority Leader, PDP Reps

After the session, the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Chukwuka Onyema, led members of the PDP caucus in the House to address journalists where he thrashed the appropriation bill.

Reading from a written speech entitled, ‘2019 Budget: Yes Another Hollow Ritual,’ Onyema said, “Again, the Buhari administration has tabled another multi-trillion naira budget and, again, this hollow ritual it began in 2015 may soon be followed, as usual, with excuses for non-performance.

“Again too, as it has always done, the APC government known for its unique ideology of ‘blame-ology’ will start apportioning of blames to all else, except itself.

“For a government that came into power promising utopia, consistently dismal implementation of the national budget betrays its half-hearted, insensitivity to the plight of the Nigerian people who long for genuine progress and development that will positively impact their lives.

“Yet since 2015, it has been an unfortunate harvest of lies, blames and propaganda while its over hyped campaign promises of security, economic growth and war against corruption have remained a mirage.”

Onyema said the claims by the administration of stepping up citizens’ security was “partly-punctured” by a report issued by the Amnesty International this week, cataloguing more than 3, 600 killings since 2016, with 310 attacks recorded between January 2016 and October 2018, 57 per cent of which took place in 2018 alone.

Accusing the government of lack of vision in managing the economy, the lawmaker said the daily increasing millions of unemployed or sacked Nigerians attested to the APC administration’s failure.