LINUS CHIBUIKE
MEMBERS of the Minority caucus of the House of Representatives have described the All Progressives Congress government as a total failure.
They gave their assessment of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration as governments at all levels gear up for the May 29 Democracy Day celebrations.
The caucus said it was worried that the exclusionist tendencies, trade restrictions, nepotism in government appointments, and disregard for the rule of law, among others, had occasioned instability, economic crisis and avoidable acrimony, which were threatening the unity of the country.
It made these positions known in a statememt signed by its Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, on Friday.
The statement read, “As lawmakers, our caucus is worried that exclusionist tendencies, trade restrictions, nepotism in government appointments, disregard to rule law, relegation of constitutional order and principles of separation of powers; abuse of human rights, electoral malpractices, harassment of opposition and arrogant insensitivity to the sensibilities of the Nigerian people by the APC administration have occasioned instability, economic crisis and avoidable acrimony that are threatening our corporate existence as a country.
“Poor policies by the APC administration have stifled the economy and put the nation in dire strait with a disturbing 33.3 percent unemployment rate, a scary 18.12 percent inflation rate, over N32.9 trillion accumulated debt burden, a progressively devalued currency and collapsed infrastructure.
“Failure of the government to address escalated insecurity challenges has crippled the agricultural sector and disorganized commercial activities leading to imminent food crisis with cost of food and other necessities of life skyrocketing beyond the reach of Nigerians.
“Nigeria, under the APC administration has now become the poverty capital of the world, ranking 98th out of 107 in Global Hunger Index, with 22.95 food inflation rate and increasing morbidity and mortality rates.
“As representatives of the people, the minority caucus is worried that our nation is heading towards a failed state. We therefore urge President Muhammadu Buhari to buckle up and use the occasion of May 29 to address the failures of his administration by taking urgent steps to tackle insecurity, ensure respect for rule of law, end corruption in his government, adopt a more inclusive approach to governance and engage better hands to manage our economy.
“Nevertheless, our caucus commends the commitment of the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in giving hope to our nation through their excellent performance in key sectors of our national life, despite the daunting challenges.
“These governors have displayed unmatched leadership competence in developing their states through economic empowerment of citizens and massive infrastructural investments in key sectors of agriculture, education, healthcare, transportation, water resources, industrialization, aviation, road infrastructure, security among others.
“Indeed, the performance of the governors elected on the platform of the PDP has further demonstrated that with the right type of leadership and ideological drive of a pan-Nigeria political party, such as the PDP, our nation will obviously come of the woods of misrule.”
“We therefore call on Nigerians to remain focused and not lose sight of the potentials and promises our nation hold despite the challenges we face today,” it added.
