* Says The Party Is Simply Ignorant
By Chinwendu Agoha (Governance Reporter)
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has described the stance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the $1.2bn Agriculture mechanization loan deal with Brazil as yet another public display of ignorance.
In a statement on Friday by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, BMO said the party's penchant for jumping on issues without clarity is legendary.
"Nigerians have again been entertained by PDP and its media handlers with a poorly thought out attack of a signature project of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration that is bound to revolutionise the agricultural sector.
"We find it amusing that an opposition party that did little or nothing to build that sector in 16 years described a nationwide agricultural mechanisation initiative as a nebulous programme.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the Green Initiative Programme is a joint agricultural mechanization project with Brazil that is expected to pave way for the establishment of 632 farm mechanization/agro-processing centres spread across the country's six geo-political zones.
"Beside supporting food production in all the 774 local government areas, the scheme which was launched in January 2019 by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will also create a leeway for transfer of technology though the local assembling of tractors in the country.
"We see it as a win-win situation in the sense that aside from boosting mechanised farming in the country and raising our GDP, there is a window for job creation opportunities across the agricultural value chain," it added.
The group also took a swipe at the former ruling party for suggesting that the loan may not be used for the purpose it was meant for.
It said: "Again we need to emphasize that unlike the PDP-era loans which were free-for-all and not tied to projects, this one is, like every single loan that the Buhari administration has sourced, solely tied to the scheme.
"We make bold to say that a large percentage of this particular loan would be provided in kind through the supply of agricultural machinery in a country that has only 5,000 tractors, as well as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts for the assembly plant component of the programme in each of the 6 geo-political zones.
"We also invite Nigerians to take a look at the website of the Debt Management Office (DMO) to have a clearer picture of Buhari-era loans and see how each one is tied to specific projects.
"And contrary to the impression PDP sought to create, the agriculture mechanisation project is designed to repay the loan facilities through its own proceeds and would not become a burden on Nigeria taxpayers.
"We want Nigerians to note that the country's dwindling revenue in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic means that it cannot fund all critical infrastructures without taking loans but we are convinced that this is not a profligate administration"
BMO urged Nigerians not to be swayed by the spoiler attitude of a party which is only keen on denting the image of an administration that is doing so much to bridge the infrastructure deficit it inherited. NNL.
