KADUNA AND POLITICS OF OPPOSITION
The PDP position on the World Bank loan is specious, argues EMMANUEL MUSA
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kaduna chapter has once again intruded into issues concerning other political parties within, apparently convinced that Kaduna voters are waiting eagerly for its intervention over the comments on the huge debt bequeathed by the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai. The PDP should be reminded that it has not been appointed the referee of alleged political disagreement. It was not invited to adjudicate the political contest between Uba Sani and El-Rufai. And, most importantly, Kaduna voters did not hand it the mandate to govern.
This latest intervention therefore looks less like opposition politics and more like a meddlesome interloper desperately knocking on the door of political relevance after being repeatedly rejected by the electorate.
The party’s argument is that Governor Uba Sani should accept responsibility for the $350 million World Bank loan approved in 2020 because, as a senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking at the time, he supported the facility and reportedly vouched for its prudent utilisation.
That argument is intellectually lazy and politically convenient. If the PDP is alleging that Sani is personally liable for the loan simply because he supported its legislative approval, then it should produce the legal instrument establishing such liability. Where is the agreement making the senator personally responsible for repayment? Where is the evidence that his legislative role transformed him from an approving lawmaker into the debtor of Kaduna State?
The PDP cannot substitute political insinuation for financial fact. If it has evidence, let it publish it. If it does not, then its entire argument collapses into the familiar Nigerian opposition tactic of shouting “accountability” while offering absolutely nothing of substance.
But the PDP’s greatest problem is not even the weakness of its argument. It is the sheer audacity of behaving as though it is an innocent observer of Kaduna’s political and economic history.
This is a party that governed Kaduna before Nigerians and Kaduna voters moved on. The electorate rejected its political offering and handed power to another platform. Yet, having failed to win the confidence of the people, the PDP now wants to regain visibility by inserting itself into every matter involving the ruling party. That is not relevant.
The PDP sees an argument and rushes towards it. It sees controversy and grabs a microphone. It comes alive anytime the government makes far-reaching, verifiable comments and suddenly discovers a sense of urgency. But when it comes to presenting an alternative coherent economic programme for Kaduna, the party becomes remarkably silent.
Where is its debt-reduction plan? Where is its proposal for increasing internally generated revenue? Where is its restructuring strategy? Where is its assessment of the World Bank facility? Where is its project-by-project analysis of how the money was spent? Where is its alternative budgetary framework? Where is the grand economic vision that Kaduna voters are supposedly missing? There is none. There is only another press statement.
And that is precisely why the PDP’s intervention deserves to be treated with the contempt it has earned.
If the party genuinely believes the governor is wrong, it should prosecute its case with facts. If it believes the loan was beneficial, it should identify the projects it financed and demonstrate their impact. If it believes the state is mishandling its debt, it should present a better repayment strategy.
Instead, it has reduced a complex public-finance question to a childish political slogan: “You supported the loan, therefore you cannot complain about the debt.” That is not governance analysis. That is not even serious opposition. It is political opportunism masquerading as public interest.
What the PDP is attempting is something far less noble: to convert another party’s internal disagreement into a cheap publicity opportunity. Kaduna people should see through it.
The party’s problem is not a shortage of press releases. Its problem is a shortage of credibility.
It has not demonstrated that it has developed a better political philosophy, a better economic programme or a better governance model. It has not convinced Kaduna voters that it has learnt the lessons of its electoral failures.
Instead, it continues to behave like a political organisation trapped in opposition without understanding what opposition is supposed to mean. A serious opposition does not merely wait for the government to make a statement before producing a rebuttal.
The party should also be careful about presenting itself as the champion of accountability while selectively assigning responsibility. If it wants to interrogate the debt legacy of Kaduna, then it should interrogate the entire history, not cherry-pick whatever portion helps its political narrative.
If it wants to discuss the $350 million facility, let it discuss its approval, disbursement, utilisation, projects, repayment terms and outcomes. If it wants to discuss N6.7 billion monthly deductions, let it explain the fiscal consequences and offer alternatives.
But if all it can contribute is an accusation against the sitting governor because he once supported a loan as a senator, that is the height of desperation.
The PDP’s current posture also exposes an uncomfortable truth about its political condition. A party that has been rejected by voters cannot reclaim relevance by behaving as a permanent heckler.
Musa writes from Kaduna State