Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja and Okwe Obi, Abuja
Verbal war between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) continued, yesterday, as the opposition party dismissed the ruling party as as a “colossal failure” saying the government has failed to fulfil any of its campaign promises.
PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, who addressed journalists in Abuja said President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to ministers to project the achievements and policies of the administration was unnecessary claiming there was none in the five years it has been in office to showcase.
The opposition leader said prior to the 2015 general elections, the APC made several promises to Nigerians but noted that it has not been able to fulfil any of them.
He added that rather than improve the lot of the citizens, the administration has imposed more hardship, especially with the recent increase in the pump price of fuel and electricity tariff.
“They made several promises including reducing the pump price of fuel, allowing the refineries to work, they made a firm commitment and promise to the people.They also promised that Naira will be equal to one dollar, create employment for all our youths and power problem will be a thing of the past within six months.
“I want to ask Nigerians whether they have fulfilled their promises or not.? It is a collossal failure. Every responsible government must be very careful in making promises.
“They made these promises in 2015 when a bag of rice was N8,000. Today, a bag of rice is N35,000. Are we better off? Have they improved on the economy? The situation in Nigeria is pathetic. It has worsened. Our people are going through pain, hardships and sorrow. And this government is clueless.”
Secondus added that only yesterday (Tuesday) they gathered and called the ministers together. And Nigerians were watching and thought that they would proffer a solution and give hope to the people. But like the story of the lizard, Nigerians are in pain, but we watch them clapping for themselves.
“What have they achieved? They have zero. Nigeria has become the headquarters of poverty in the world. In all ramifications, transportation, health sector, education is a colossal failure. On the issue of security, by 2015 it was only North East. But today, insecurity has engulfed all sections of this country. Our people are dying, no more farmland, our people are dying of hunger, poverty, herdsmen, the crime rate has risen to the highest level…
“We sympathise with President Buhari and APC because all they require to do was to hire competent Nigeria to help them. They are clueless and they have failed.”
However, in a swift reaction, APC described the criticisms of the PDP and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, of the deregulation of electricity and petrol by President Buhari as unpatriotic.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, in a statement, wondered why Atiku who had supported the initiative would make a U-turn, adding that his sudden opposition clearly revealed his two-facedness and portrays him as man not only acutely lacking in integrity but one that should never be trusted.
“The PDP and Atiku’s reaction to what has been adjudged an inevitability by many experts clearly depicts the height of hypocrisy demonstrated by them on many issues relating to the progress and wellbeing of Nigeria.
“Worrisome is the action of the PDP’s presidential flag bearer at the 2019 general elections. It’s rather unfortunate if truly, the comments reported by a section of the media, condemning the removal of petrol subsidy, is attributed to Atiku Abubakar.
“Atiku continues to justify the majority of the Nigerian people who rejected him at the polls. This stems majorly from the fact that he was part of the government that created the “corrupt petrol subsidy” monster and also the chaos in the electricity sector.
“A further portrayal of Atiku’s hypocrisy was his pretentious promise to deregulate the downstream petroleum sector by privatising the NNPC. Atiku made the sale of NNPC to his friends and the deregulation of both the PMS and the electricity sector the hallmark of his 2019 presidential election misadventure.
“Judging from its background as a party that instituted the very corrupt subsidy regime in the petrol sector, the PDP lacks the moral credentials to question an honest and transparent move by the Buhari-led administration to find lasting solutions to the problems caused by the party in the years that it led the affairs of the country.
“Describing the deregulation of the price of petrol by the APC-led government as callous and cruel is rather sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek, given the pain and anguish suffered by Nigerians on long queues at petrol stations when the PDP-led government presided over a very corrupt subsidy regime.
“It is, therefore, laughable that the same set of people will turn around and condemn decisions taken to fix the mess they created in the system. The PDP’s outburst indeed exposes once again its real fraudulent character and plot to patronise Nigerians and make them suffer in perpetuity by keeping a fraudulent subsidy arrangement that feeds a few individuals at the expense of the masses.
“Judging from the foregoing, the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and comments attributed to them should not be taken seriously as they simply lack the decency required to guide Nigeria and Nigerians to the path of prosperity and progress.”
He claimed that “the drive to deregulate the oil sector, the petroleum products pricing template now reflects competitive and market driven components which has in turn freed up cash to fund the ongoing development of critical infrastructure across the country.”