THE All Progressives Congress (APC), on Wednesday, issued its official reaction to the press statement issued on Tuesday by the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
The former president in his appraisal of President Muhammadu Buhari expressed disappointment in the APC led administration and noted that the expectations of Nigerians who voted for the party have been dashed.
Chief Obasanjo in his critique of the ruling party and its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) claimed none of the two parties was capable of meeting the expectations of Nigerians and further called for what it called Coalition of Nigeria, (CN). He further cautioned President Buhari not to seek for a fresh mandate in the forthcoming general elections.
But the party in its reaction signed by its national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi faulted the former president derision of the ruling party as a failure.
While it disclosed that Obasanjo’s observations were noted, the APC insisted that it ‘’remains the best option at this time for all
Nigerians who are genuinely committed to the progress and development of the country. ‘’
It was however silent on the former president admonition that President Buhari should desist from a fresh mandate in 2019.
Abdullahi statement read in part:’’ The All Progressives Congress (APC) notes the statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo which has been widely reported in the media and titled: “The Way out: a clarion call for a coalition for Nigeria movement”.
‘’While we do not agree with everything the former president said, especially on his assessment of the government and our party, we note
the sundry issues raised by the former president, and we assume these were made in good faith.
‘’As a father of the nation, we understand that the former president would feel obliged to intervene if certain things are not being done
or are not being done in a particular way. However, we believe that such interventions should be for the sole purpose of improving the
system and encouraging the relevant institutions to work harder in improving certain situations.
It is for this reason that we disagree with the former president in what appears like a wholesale dismissal of the entire political system
in the country. We acknowledge our challenges as a new political party, even as we believe that APC remains the best option at this
time for all Nigerians who are genuinely committed to the progress and development of the country.
We also note that there are about 72 other registered political parties in the country and the people reserve the right to support any
of these. Our democracy itself is young and hence all the parties face sundry challenges, but we have made progress since 1999, with
President Obasanjo himself being a major contributor to our progress as a multi-party democracy. It is for this reason that we believe the
respected former president should not give the impression that none of the political parties in the country is good enough for Nigerians and
the only solution to the current challenges that we face is a completely new arrangement.
‘’The task of building a political party is not done overnight. Even the oldest of our political parties is still very young in comparison
with advanced democracies. Our democracy, therefore, stands a better chance of becoming really strong if we allow the parties to find their
identities, even if in the process they make mistakes and appear to be “wobbling”. No political party arrives fully formed.
“APC calls on all our supporters across the country to remain strong and steadfast. These are challenging times. But we cannot afford to react
to public criticism with any form of emotionalism. We are the ruling party. We must take responsibility. Take valuable lessons on board and
continue to improve. Regardless of the current challenges, we are confident that brighter future is assured for our party and our country.’’
and then