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‘APC government has no direction,’ Opposition party says

The PDP also said that Buhari’s recent visit to the United States of America was only an attempt to hide the APC government’s inefficiency and inability to face the real business of governance.

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the new government led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) has had no direction since it assumed power on May 29, 2015.

The PDP also said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to the United States of America was only an attempt to hide the APC government’s inefficiency and inability to face the real business of governance.

The statements were made during a press conference addressed by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh on Sunday, July 26, 2015.

Metuh said:

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Gentlemen of the press, we have once again called you up to address a number of very important issues constituting a threat to our democracy, the general health of our nation and our welfare as citizens under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.

Last Thursday, our dear President, President Muhammadu Buhari returned from his much-publicised visit to the United States of America.

A visit which has proven to be anything but successful, yet another miscarried cosmetic intervention to hide government’s inefficiency and inability to face the real business of governance.

This is in addition to the fact that as patriotic citizens, we looked forward for gains especially given our restated support for any action or policy by the Federal Government aimed at stamping out corruption, ending insurgency and promoting economic growth, which formed parts of the publicised agenda for the visit.

However, now that the visit has come and gone, our fear is that nothing whatsoever has been learnt or gained. What we continue to receive as a nation have been embarrassing disagreements, accusations and counter accusations, blames and denials on very important issues due to lack of tact and skill in the management of state matters by the APC-led administration.

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It is disheartening that rather than secure any sort of tangible gain for the fight against terrorism, which has lost steam under the APC watch, with insurgents, who were pushed to the verge of surrender by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, now surging back and spreading into the country, we get nothing but exchanges and disagreements between the Presidency and their American hosts. This is not only embarrassing but also worrisome indication of crass ineptitude in the handling of international affairs on the part of the present administration.

We urge the APC-led administration to settle down, put its acts together and get determined, without further excuse, to face the fight against insurgency with every sense of seriousness especially given President Buhari’s promise in his April 2, 2015 CNN interview to end the scourge two months after his inauguration, which is by the end of this month.

Also, while Nigerians awaited for reassuring words to promote our democracy and unity as a nation, they were shocked as they watched President Buhari unfold to the world his decision to administer the country on the basis of the voting pattern in the last general elections rather than on equity as stipulated by the constitution and his oaths of office as the President of Nigeria.

President Buhari told a stunned audience in the US that “constituencies that gave me 97 percent cannot in all honesty be treated, on some issues, with constituencies that gave me 5 percent”, signifying that his government will be discriminatory.

Never in the history of our nation has a president made such a divisive and vindictive declaration. Never in the history of Nigeria has a President made such tendentious, biased and partisan statement, a blade on the chord of unity of his own country and people.

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President Buhari as a respected leader and the father of the nation whose “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody’ inaugural speech brought great hope to Nigerians, must therefore note the enormous damage and danger his recent partisan declaration brings to the polity.

We demand that the President come clear on this matter. Would this form the basis of government appointments rather than adherence to merit and the principle of federal character as enshrined in the constitution? Would this be a basis for termination of appointments, promotions and key policies in the service circle?

May we remind President Buhari that his declaration to run a discriminatory government is in clear violation of his oath of office as President wherein he publicly swore “that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; …”

Whereas President Obama came to the meeting with a formidable team of experts and key federal officials, our President had three APC governors with questionable performance and who owe salaries and billion of naira in debts, thereby robbing our nation the benefits and gains of the discussions.

Furthermore, since the President has insisted on running his government as a sole administrator, making important decisions on national affairs without recourse to relevant statutory arms and organs of government, we are compelled to demand that this administration come out clear on its expenses since assumption of office in May in keeping with its much harped stance on transparency.

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We make this demand because since the APC took office, the nation’s financial system in the absence of statutory functionaries has been enmeshed in confusion, controversy and fertile atmosphere for financial sleazes.

Recall that when it assumed office, this administration raised the issue of empty treasury only for the nation to learn few days later from the Accountant General of the Federation that about $2.1 billion was left in the Excess Crude Account (ECA). When the PDP demanded credit for the ECA savings, the nation was suddenly made aware of huge sums from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas dividends from which the APC-led Federal Government announced financial bailout for states.

We are worried that the ineptitude, avoidable inactivity, lack of policy direction and absence of ministers to coordinate government affairs have left the nation’s economy sour with continued slide in the naira which has fallen from under N200 to the dollar in May to an all time low of N240, in addition to the excruciating loss in the capital market which has lost over N1.1 trillion in the last two months.

With the recent display of insensitivity in deciding that ministers would be appointed in September, a reneging on the earlier promise to unfold a cabinet two weeks after inauguration, Nigerians should brace up for more economic loses ahead, a development which spells doom for the gains earlier achieved by the PDP administration in growing our economy to the biggest in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world.

Indeed, Nigerians are no longer in doubt that they have been scammed with long list of empty promises. This government has failed to articulate any policy direction in any sector. What we see is a smart attempt at cosmetic governance, loud propaganda and artful move to appropriate the achievements made by the PDP-led administration; such as the effort in ending polio, the improvement in power supply which is a dividend from numerous investments by the previous administrations, the return of the railways among others.

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The only achievements and change brought by the APC government are the curbing of the fundamental human rights of citizens; engaging in selective application of war against corruption, interfering in the activities of the National Assembly and eroding the independence of INEC. The order of the day has become the crass victimization and harassment of officials of the immediate past administration.

Finally, we state in clear terms that for the APC, it is a matter of so far, bad change. So far, bad change that the government has failed to articulate any clear policy direction with attendant avoidable confusion and economic downturn; so far, bad change that our dear nation is gradually sliding into a banana republic were the fundamental rights of the citizens are being trampled upon and where security agencies have become compromised instruments of oppression in the hands of the ruling party.

So far, bad change that the government has reneged on many of its promises to the people and now seeks to hoodwink them with lies, propaganda and governance orchestrations. So far, bad change that the people now have to live with the reality that the government had no intention of providing monthly N5, 000 stipend, allowances to the discharged but unemployed Youth Corps members, free meals for school children, 100 million jobs, additional 4 million new homes, and bringing the naira to the same value with the dollar among other promises for which they were voted for.

As a responsible political party that has sustained democracy in the last 16 years, we are in good position to understand the growing frustration and agitation among the people. However, we appreciate the sense of calm by the citizens especially bearing in mind that this confusion called the APC will end in the next four years.

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