•Why we admitted our mistakes –Opposition party
Ndubuisi Orji; Abuja, with agency report
The Federal Government has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to go the whole hog with its apology to Nigerians by returning all looted funds from the public treasury under its watch; during its 16 years in power.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday, government also challenged the PDP to show the genuineness of its apology through a discernible change of attitude.
‘’The PDP presided over an unprecedented looting of the public treasury, perhaps the worst of its kind in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world. Therefore, the best evidence of penitence for such a party is not just to own up and apologise, but to also return the looted funds. Anything short of that is mere deceit.
“Even with the paucity of funds, this administration has spent an unprecedented amount of money on infrastructural development and Social Investment Programme, among others. Returning looted funds will provide more money for these programmes and make life more meaningful for Nigerians. There is no better apology than that.”
“PDP, press the reset button. Stop sabotaging the work of this administration, which is packing the mess you left behind, through your reckless statements and unfounded allegations. Play responsible opposition politics. Put Nigeria’s interest over and above partisan interest. Temper your desperation to return to power. Spend quality time in the purgatory and you will be forgiven,’’ he added.
In a swift response, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus explained that its apology to Nigerians, in Abuja, on Monday, on its past mistakes, during the 16 years it led the country, is the pathway to national healing, renewal of hope and re-mobilisation of the citizens for the task of rescuing the nation from the misrule of the APC.
Yesterday, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said as a responsible party, it is committed to the wellbeing of the country and her citizens.
The opposition party stated that it is saddened that Nigerians are suffering because the country allowed the APC, which it described as a “ movement that has neither structure nor plan, to scheme itself into governance.”
He added that the ruling party has devastated the country, wrecked the nation’s robust economy and plunged the citizens “into a situation of hunger, starvation and daily bloodletting.”
The opposition party said it is aware that Nigerians, across board, are looking up to the PDP to rescue the country and return her to a path of true democracy and prosperity.
“It is imperative to further state that our apology has to do more with the fact that we made certain mistakes that allowed an anti-people movement to take over governance in our country.
“Our situation under the APC has become so pathetic that the world is now contemplating on how to help us. Under the APC misrule, the average life span of Nigerians has become abysmally low, purchasing power is eroded, the middle class has been wiped off, security is almost non-existent, all the economic gains of the PDP years have been destroyed, and our nation is now placed on auto-pilot.