The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over its failure to pay the December salaries of federal workers.

The national publicity secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, declared that the non-payment of salaries undeniably confirms the administration’s apathy towards the welfare of its people and shows that the government is out to inflict pain on Nigerians.

According to the party, the nonchalance of the present administration towards the payment of salaries, particularly during this yuletide period, is a clear indication of the insensitivity of the Tinubu-led APC administration.

Mr Ologunagba adjudged the present administration’s leadership as one that has turned the nation into an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

He said, “By this action, the Tinubu administration has practically turned our nation into a huge Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp with millions of Nigerians becoming beggars and observing the period in hunger, anguish, and misery.”

He further accused the APC government of weaponising poverty and compelling submission to totalitarianism.

“It is obvious that the non-payment of the December salary critically needed by the workers, including our gallant security operatives at this period, is consistent with the atrocious character of APC administration to weaponise poverty and further suppress Nigerians to surrender to totalitarianism.”

He condemned the President and his party members’ merriment and display of opulence while the workers who invest time and energy into serving the nation remain unpaid and, therefore, lack the means to feed their families and celebrate with them.

According to him, the President would rather approve the lavish spending of the country’s scarce resources on sponsoring cronies, political minions, hangers-on, and their mistresses to expensive foreign trips, while salaries remain unpaid.

He lauded the past PDP administrations for their promptness in the payment of salaries, noting that never in the 16 years of the PDP administration did an event such as this take place.

He further noted, “More distressing is that the Tinubu Presidency can afford to withhold salaries even after approving the unbearable increase in the pump price of fuel to over N700 per litre, with the attendant high cost of food, transportation, medication and other necessities of life.

“It is instructive to remind Nigerians that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) had earlier this month announced that it shared a total of N1.783 trillion to Federal, State and Local Governments for December 2023, yet workers have not been paid because no cash backing was effected by the Tinubu administration despite huge resources accruable to it. We ask where is the money?

The party further demanded the effective payment of December salaries to workers and an additional compensatory payment of at least 50% of the salary to alleviate the repercussions of the economic hardship thrown their way by virtue of the APC administration’s default to pay salaries.

It emphasised that it is pivotal that the current administration rules Nigeria only by the Constitution and the rule of law and not by the whimsical desires of an individual or group.