BREAKING NEWS, Featured, Politics
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Leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, at its national conference in Abuja, on Thursday, accuse the All Progressives Congress of working towards destroying democratic values that the PDP built in the past 16 years
| By Olu Ojewale | Nov 9, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seems to be very unhappy with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. The PDP at its national conference held on Thursday, November 12, accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government of destroying the country by its fascist inclination and called the international community to halt the trend.
Leading the attack was Ike Ekweremadu, Senate president, who accused the APC of using propaganda to win the 2015 election and had since failed to fulfil any of its promises made to Nigerians.
Speaking at the conference, which held at the Thisday Dome in Abuja, Ekweremadu said the APC won by promising much more than it could deliver. Itemising some of the promises, the Senate number two man said: “They promised to scale up the exchange rate of our currency by making one naira equal to one US dollar. Have they kept this promise?
“They promised to bring back the Chibok girls in three months. Have they brought back the Chibok Girls?
“They promised to pay N5,000 to 25 million unemployed youths. Have they paid a kobo to any youth?
“They promised free meals to our children in the schools. Have they given any?
“They recently promised to end the Boko Haram insurgency in December 2015. We earnestly hope and pray that this particular promise is kept in the overall interest of our nation.” Ekweremadu said instead of fulfilling its promise, the APC had driven down the country’s economy to a point where even the president confessed that the nation was broke.
“Inflation has nearly hit double digits high, rising to 9.4 percent in October from 9.3 per cent in September. Unemployment rate has hit the rooftop since May 2015, with the construction industry laying off tens of thousands of workers.
“There is massive job loss in the banking sector. Many businesses are being grounded because they can no longer buy spare parts or restock from Europe, China, Dubai, among others.
“The system is locked down. The capital market has lost over N400 billion in recent months,” he said.
The PDP chieftain said that the nosedive was due mainly to the free fall of the naira, absence of clear economic direction, delay in the appointment of ministers, the cramping monetary policy of the administration, and the exclusion of Nigeria from the J.P Morgan Bond Index. While warning that the country was gliding towards recession, Ekweremadu also alleged that the political space in Nigeria was being narrowed, contrary to the open space that was created by the PDP when it was in power.
He noted with satisfaction that former presidents of the PDP extraction such as the late President Musa Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan showed good examples by always being the first to congratulate the opposition each time they won elections. But instead of reciprocating the gestures and build on them, the PDP chieftain said that the current leadership of the APC had shown clear desperation to takeover over the whole country by hook or crook.
The lawmaker said the PDP had recently been crying out over what he called “blatant misuse of security agencies to hound the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, staff and intervene in election petition matters.
He similarly alleged that the APC government was doing everything possible to remove the PDP governors from office in the Niger Delta region.
The lawmaker insisted that the judiciary must not only do justice, it must be seen to be just. He also called on the international community to speak up and intervene.
Ekweremadu said throughout the PDP’s 16 years in power no part of Nigeria complained of total exclusion or brazen lopsidedness in appointments as being witnessed in the present regime. “Every part of Nigeria was given a sense of belonging despite its political choices. Today, a panorama of nepotism pervades the country,” he said, adding: “It is an indisputable fact that our strength as a nation is in our unity.”
Speaking earlier, Uche Secondus, acting national chairman of the PDP, similarly said that the APC had failed to deliver on any of its election promises. He warned the ruling party to stop interfering in judicial matters concerning PDP states.
“Enough is enough! Let it be clear that the people of Nigeria and PDP members would stand resolutely against any attempt to constrain our cherished freedoms under the rule of law,” Secondus said.
He said the PDP was the “most valued democratic asset in Nigeria today”, saying the APC was conscious of this fact and that was the reason it resolved to destroy the party.
He called on the delegates to the conference to consider the challenging circumstances the party had found itself and the commitment of the leadership to reorganise and reposition the PDP for future successes.
“We must be determined to ensure that we resist the temptation to continue in the blame game; to make sure that selfish interests do not divide us and give the ruling party the leeway to realise their goals. The future of our great party is bright,” he said.
The PDP boss also urged the Senate to carry out a proper investigation into the alleged payment of N25 billion as commission to a company on account of the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA.
Many speakers at the conference commended the PDP national working committee, NWC, led by Secondus, saying that it had given them hope for a brighter future.
The conference also commended the NWC for its tenacity, commitment and dedication at the party’s trying time.
Bello Mohammed, acting chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, in his speech said there was no reason for the party to apologise to Nigerians because the party had laid a good democratic foundation.
Besides, Mohammed said the APC had been benefitting from the “foundation laid by the PDP governments in the past” and wondered why the APC government had continued to accuse the defunct PDP government of failing to fulfil its electoral promises.
Mohammed, a former minister of defence, regretted, particularly, that the APC government had accused the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration of leaving behind an empty treasury.
“The APC was aware of the state of the treasury when they made the promise that the naira would be raised and be equivalent to the dollar. What is happening now? The naira has continued to depreciate beyond what they inherited. Tragically, instead of saving the naira, we can say they are killing the naira.
“They promised free education and free meals for school children, among other hollow promises. Where are the schools? Where are the meals? All the excuses we hear about budget not being prepared, who is manning the treasury now? Who has majority at the National Assembly? Is six months not long enough for any adjustment required in the budget to be made? Have they not heard of something called supplementary budget?”
He said that in six months, Nigerians had expected Buhari to start showing evidence that he would abide by his campaign promises, but nothing had changed.
Also in his remarks, Governor Mimiko of Ondo State who spoke for present and former PDP governors, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be fair to all Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliation by conducting free and fair elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states as well as release the bailout funds for Kogi State.
Prominent among those who attended the conference were Godswill Akpabio, Senate minority leader, Leo Ogor, minority leader of the House of Representatives.
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