APC a massive failure compared to our government ― PDP governors

The present All Progressive Congress (APC) government is a massive failure compared to the administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) it took over from.

This is the position of governors elected under the main opposition party following their meeting under the PDP Governors Forum in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday.

In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, hosted by Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, they compared economic indices of both administrations and concluded that the ruling party has brought Nigeria to endless tales of woes.

The communique stated: “The Nigerian economy has continued to deteriorate and Nigerians have become numb and accustomed to bad economic news as exemplified by the inconsistent and differential exchange rate regime, high-interest rates, unsustainable unemployment figures and borrowing spree some of which have not been applied to important projects, and other bad economic indicators.

“In particular, it is clear that the APC Government is a massive failure when compared with the records of PDP in government.

“The PDP handed over a $550 billion economy (the largest in Africa), but under APC, Nigeria is the Poverty Capital of the world. In 2015, under PDP, the exchange rate was N198 per Dollar, it is now under APC almost N500 to a Dollar;

“In 2015, the unemployment rate was 7.3% under PDP, it is now 33%, one of the highest in the world under APC; In 2015, the Pump price of Petroleum was N87 per litre, it is now N165 per litre and climbing under APC. Debt Servicing now under APC takes over 98% of the Federal budget. The tales of woe are endless.

“The PDP Governors noted that the management of our Oil and Gas resources, the administration of Federation Account remittances have remained opaque, confusing and non – transparent. In addition, the transition to NNPC Ltd under the Petroleum Industry Act has not been properly streamlined to ensure that the interests of all the tiers of Government are protected, consistent with the 1999 Constitution.”

The governors advised the National Assembly to override the presidential veto of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill or delete the contentious clause.

The communique said: “The PDP Governors requested the National Assembly to quickly conclude deliberations on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill either by overriding Mr President’s veto or deleting areas of complaints.

“The meeting advised that the option of sustaining Mr President’s veto would lead to a quicker resolution and would deny Mr President the opportunity to once again truncate a reformed Electoral jurisprudence for Nigeria. An early concluded Electoral Act is vital for credible elections.”

The governors also lamented President Muhammadu Buhari’s opposition to state police and other measures that they observed will resolve the structural problems of the country.

According to the communique, “The meeting expressed regrets that Mr President is unwilling, from his recent comments discountenancing the proposals for state policing, to participate in reviewing the structural problems of tackling insecurity in Nigeria and urges Mr President to reconsider his position and consider decentralisation and restructuring of the security architecture as the most viable solution, together with proper arming, funding and training requirements for Security Agencies.”

The governors similarly lamented the continued state of insecurity in the country, “the persistent and ceaseless flow of Nigerians’ blood on a daily basis in many parts of Nigeria, the near-collapse of the security situation in Nigeria. The strategies to confront terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other criminals is still a major problem of the APC administration.”

The meeting stressed the importance of the 2023 general elections and urged youths to register massively to vote out what the communique termed anti-youths government.

It further stated: “The meeting urged eligible Nigerians of all walks of life, particularly the Youths, to register en masse with INEC to exercise their franchise in the 2023 general elections.

“It further noted that the next election is a very consequential election that should be used to end the dominance of very youth unfriendly APC Government; a government that had the arrogance to deny Nigerian youths of the use of TWITTER, a business-friendly tool for the young, for over a year. The youths should empower themselves to determine who leads them.”

The communique informed that the latest regular meeting of the forum “crucial to the sustenance of our Democracy” reviewed the state of the States, the state of the nation.

The PDP governors congratulated the entire PDP family for conducting a smooth and credible National Convention “that led to the emergence of the highly acclaimed Senator Dr Iyorchia Ayu-led National Executive Committee and commended the new PDP NWC for hitting the ground running with respect to repositioning the PDP into a credible vehicle for RESCUING and REBUILDING Nigeria which has been battered by the bad economy, insecurity, unemployment and other social ills by the incompetent and inept APC Administration.”

They also congratulated the Chief Host, Wike, CON, “for the very high standards of hosting and for the great leadership performance he has entrenched in Rivers State.”

In attendance are Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Chairman of the forum; Gov. Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Gov. Sen. Douye Diri (Bayelsa State), Gov. Samuel Ortom (Benue State), Gov. Dr Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta State), Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), Gov. Wike (Rivers State), Gov. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde (Oyo State), Gov. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa State) and Gov. Bala Mohammed (Bauchi State).

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