THE main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday challenged the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government over its claim that the security operatives had rescued 48 out of the missing 94 schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents in Yobe on Monday
According to him, “Nigeria today is at the crossroads. The economy is in tatters, the security situation has become a nightmare. Killer herdsmen are competing with Boko Haram and kidnappers on who would inflict the most pain on hapless Nigerians.
“On Monday night Boko Haram terrorists attacked Government Girls Secondary School Dapchi, Yobe State and as we speak reports say about ninety-four (94) students were still missing.”
Secondus while lamenting that the nation was sliding towards a terrible direction, he said '”The nation is in crisis and is sliding towards a terrible direction, the onus is on us to save the situation and we need to speak out because if we don’t, we have ourselves to blame
“We are aware of the attitude of federal government and the INEC, which is not friendly. INEC is prepared to rig the 2019 election and we will come out at the appropriate time to show this with data. It happens in 2015 and it will not happen in 2019. We will resist it
“Why would INEC allowed underage voters to vote in the just concluded Kano state election? We called on international community to note this, but we will resist all these legally
“If you want to change APC or the government, you need to encourage your people to register and get their PVCs. We don’t have the gun, this is what we have, the PVCs,”
Speaking on the sequence of the election, the party Chairman lambasted those quarrelling with the alteration done by the National Assembly.
According to him, “I don’t know who want to quarrel with the re-order of election by the National Assembly, they were elected by the people and they have the power to do their work. If the President loves this country, he should sign the bill into law,” he said.
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Reacting to the report by Transparent International (TI) that corruption in the country is on the increase, Secondus said hunger and corruption are on the increase under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
While linking the rising rate of job losses and unemployment to insecurity in the country, Secondus said:”Our teeming youth are hopeless with no jobs. Their parents and guardians keep losing their jobs by the minute. Since 2015, more than sixteen (16) million Nigerians have lost their jobs.
“According to the World Poverty Clock, an organisation that assesses poverty across the globe using credible data obtained from the United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, Nigeria would become the extreme poverty capital of the world by the end of this month
“It will overtake India as the country with the most people in extreme poverty.”
According to him, “This demonstrates how badly the APC Federal Government has mishandled Nigeria, an economy they took over from the PDP in 2015, as the largest (economy) in Africa”
Secondus stated that “The so-called War Against Corruption has bred more corruption. Even reptiles and monkeys have joined! Discerning Nigerians had made it clear that what has been going on is the persecution of members of the opposition under the guise of anti-corruption war while monumental corruption is being perpetrated by officials of the government”
And in a statement earlier,
The PDP said the latest report by Transparency International (TI) showing that corruption has worsened under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has vindicated its stand that the current APC-led government is inherently and overtly corrupt.
The party said, by this new TI report, the African Union (AU) must have now realized its error in naming President Buhari as the African Union (AU) anti-corruption champion and should immediately withdraw the conferment.
The opposition party said the TI report has exposed the fact that those parading daily as champions of anti-corruption are rather superintending over the worst kind of official sleaze and hypocrisy in the history of our nation.
The party said the APC administration has been deceiving Nigerians with a ‘holier than thou posturing’ and painting others black when it is swimming in forms of corruption that are eminently festered by official concealment by the Presidency.
The statement reads:
“It is shocking that under our ‘saints’, Nigeria has moved significantly from the 136th it ranked in 2016 to 146th in 2017, with President Buhari presiding over our nation.
“This is a government that has been providing cover for its corrupt officials while operating heavily on propaganda, persecution of opposition members with fabricated charges and toiling to sway the people with false performance induces
“This government has offered protection to former APC governors who were accused of stealing money meant for the development of their states to fund the 2015 APC presidential campaign and even rewarded them with ministerial appointments.
The opposition party challenged the APC and the Presidency “to speak out on this TI report. What have they to say when the world is now aware that they are complicit in humongous sleazes including the leaked official memo showing underhand oil contracts to the tune of N9 trillion ($25billion dollars) at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources which are under purview of President Buhari as Petroleum minister?
“What has the APC government to say when the world is aware that it is complicit in shady oil subsidy deals amounting to trillions of naira by its cabal who has also been fingered to be behind the illegal lifting and diversion of crude worth N1.1 trillion to service APC interests?
“The world is now aware of the diversion of billions of naira meant for fight against insurgency and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by the presidency cabal; the concealment of theft, by the cabal, of billions of naira at the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) among other heavy sleazes around the presidency.
“As we speak, the APC administration has increased taxes, levies and tariffs without a transparent remitting regime while funds said to have been recovered in the anti-graft war have not been adequately accounted for.”
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Addressing newsmen after the NEC meeting, its National Publicity Secretary, Hon Kola Ologbondiyan said that the NEC resolved that the Party should commence massive registration of new members nationwide ahead of the general elections.
He said that the NEC also advised the minister of Transportation, Hon Rotimi Amaechi to face his main duty at the transport sector especially the safety of the people rather than be busy campaigning for the re-election of President Buhari come next year.