Queen NwabuezeFor the umpteenth time, the presidency yesterday attacked the governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over their comments on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, saying PDP was merely covering up for its 16 years of misrule.
The former ruling party had taken a swipe at APC’s poor performance in governance after seven years in office during the PDP Governors Forum in a monthly meeting hosted by Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
The Presidency claimed that PDP has continued to seek opportunities to cover up for its alleged serial and criminal failures and damaging period in office, which the Buhari’s administration had to repair.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIt further alleged that under the PDP, the nation had an army full of phantom soldiers whose pay went to PDP politicians’ pockets, while the nation’s soldiers were under-resourced and died in the fight against insurgents.
According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in a very lengthy statement titled, “Issues from the PDP fantasy communique from Umuahia,” the presidency said: “The rejected Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, fantasy communiqué is a work of fiction by those who truly believe black is white and one plus one equals three.”
“This statement of the delusion seeks to cover up the serial and criminal failures of the PDP’s long and damaging period in office, which the Muhammadu Buhari administration and All Progressives Congress (APC) have striven these past seven years to repair,” Shehu wrote.
He continued: “We cannot forget that under PDP, the nation had an army full of phantom soldiers whose pay went to PDP politicians’ pockets while our under-resourced real soldiers died in the fight against terrorist insurgents and our international allies refused to supply Nigeria kit and military aid.
The presidential aide seized the opportunity trying to score some points: “Today with the APC, the army is resourced, we have fighter jets from our partners, Boko Haram is being driven from every inch of Nigerian territory, and ISWAP’s leader eliminated in a Nigerian airstrike.”
He said: “Today, with APC in government, there are ranches on federal land and in state land where there is the willingness to establish them. Clashes are reduced. Lives are saved, and livelihoods are enriched.
Shehu trudged on: “Today with APC we support our national currency; we have achieved self-sufficiency in rice and fertilizer production; we refuse to allow greedy politicians and businessmen to hide their money overseas, and instead build an economy here in Nigeria for all.
He then continued: “We cannot ignore how PDP politicians sought – and continue to seek – to inflame ethnic and religious tensions by refusing to even proffer a solution to the herder-farmer clashes which became most prevalent under their misrule.”
Then the presidency went on and on: “We will always know how PDP politicians raided the NNPC, consistently failed to pay into the Federation Account and, in the last year of PDP misrule, $20 billion dollars was simply found “missing”.
“Today with APC, funds from NNPC are directly and transparently used to fund social and health programmes – such as COVID-19 response, the construction of roads, bridges and rail, and equipping of hospitals to cope with new and existing challenges.
“And then there are those PDP leaders in attendance who signed the Communique. Who would trust such people with the running of our country?
“Who can believe a word these people say, as they looked outwardly stylish but harrowed by power-sharing and other troubles inwardly?
“The governors reeled out numbers on the economy, pretending as if the once-in-a-life COVID-19 pandemic, with its huge and devastating effect, disrupting global supply chains, uniformly battering the world economy never happened.
“COVID-19 brought suffering and hardship to the doorstep of the entire global community-less maybe, of the affluent and pretentious PDP Governors-and to the credit of this administration, Nigeria’s economy recovered faster and stronger than the entire world ever imagined.”
The Presidency advised the PDP Governors to check the facts and leave the politics, adding, “What does the country get with this kind of gimmick?”
The PDP Governors had in their communique noted the collapse of the National Grid (126 times in 7 years – (June 2015 to March 2022) and its consequences for non-availability of power is most unfortunate.
The communique further stated that, “Kerosene (NHK) used by the ordinary Nigerian for cooking and power was N180 in 2015, it now sells at ?450; Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) – 12.5kg Cylinder sold for N2,400 in 2015, is now sold at between N8,750 and N10, 000.
“Prices of basic food stuffs are now three times higher than what they used to be in 2015. Staple foods such as rice, beans, cassava flakes are now slipping out of the hands of average Nigerians. Indeed, a Bag of Rice sold for N8500 in 2015 is now N39,000.
“Electricity was N14.23 per kilowatt in 2015, it is now N38.530, and not even available; Unemployment rate was 11.4 per cent in 2015, it is now over 33 per cent, one the highest in the world; and the poverty rate in 2015 was 11.3 per cent but now about 42.8 per cent.
The governors expressed surprise that in the face of the distressing statistics, the APC is still seeking to remain in power in 2023.
“The Forum is surprised that in the face of these statistics of complete failure in all ramifications and areas, the APC still wants to be on the ballot in 2023.
“This shows how uncaring and insensitive the APC is. It has become a menace to Nigeria,” the PDP governors had declared.
“Accumulated Inflation in 2015 was about 4%, it is now 15.50%; Inflation Rate was 9.01% in 2015 and now 15.7%.
“Perhaps the Exchange Rate has been one of the most disastrous. N150 to a dollar was the parallel market (patronised by most businessmen and Nigerians) rate in 2015, it is now about N580 to $1 in the parrel market and still rising.
Debt and Debt Servicing: Domestic Debt of N8.4T and External Debt of USD 7.3b was incurred between 1999-2015.
While Domestic Debt of N7.63T (June 2015-Dec 2020) and USD28.57b as at Dec 2020 was incurred. External debt of USD21.27b was incurred between June 2015 and 2021.
“National Debt to GDP Ratio was 23.41% (2016) it is now 36.88% (2022).
“The Corruption Index has risen from 136 in 2015 to 150 now; Nigeria’s Misery Index, an indicator used in determining how economically well off the citizens of a country are, is usually calculated by adding the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to the annual inflation rate, has moved from 14.75 percent in 2015 to 50.48 (2021) and the major threat to the agricultural sector and food security in Nigeria is insecurity.”
“In the northeast of Nigeria, it is estimated that no fewer than 70,000 hectares of arable farmland have been abandoned in the affected States and Local Government areas. The trend is the same all over the country. This further contributes to food inflation. The APC led Federal Government must take steps to cooperate with States to bring security down to the grassroots.”
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