…accuse them of driving the country to the brink of collapse
. Ruling party keeps mum
Ayo Esan & Francis Kadiri, Abuja
Major opposition political parties have picked holes in the handling of the nation’s affairs by the ruling All Progressives Congress and the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration since their return to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa last May 29 for a fresh term of another four years in office.
The Peoples Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress, at the weekend, x-rayed the performance of the ruling APC and President Buhari and concluded that their handling of the rein of governance in the country had left much to be desired.
The PDP and the ADC, therefore, urged the APC and Buhari to admit failure in governance, and rise to the challenge of nation-building thrown at them by the existing political and socio-economic atmosphere in the country.
The PDP said that there was nothing to write home about concerning the handling of the nation’s affairs by the APC and Buhari so far.
According to the party, the Buhari administration has further pushed the country to the edge of the precipice in the past hundred days of its second term in office as it has failed to improve the easy access of Nigerians to food and other basic necessities of life.
The PDP argued that rather than taking steps to rescue Nigerians from the current socio-economic quagmire it had pushed them into, the Buhari administration had brought further hardships on them.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, told The Point at the weekend, “Nothing has changed. Have the prices of food improved? Is the security situation better now?
“Nothing tangible to point out to as their achievements. What have they achieved in the past hundred days? Nothing! Buhari and APC are digging Nigerians into more trouble. Economically, the cost of foodstuffs has skyrocketed. The price of a bag of rice has risen from N15,000 to N20,000, and you can go on and on.”
Speaking in the same vein, the ADC stressed that the current state of the nation called for decisive efforts and concern needed to restore sanity to the country’s democratic process.
ADC National Chairman, Chief Ralphs Okey Nwosu, who spoke at a stakeholders meeting convened by the party in Abuja, described the country’s democratic terrain as “corrupt, dangerous, complex, complicated and fluid,” stating that “cannibalism and anxious pursuit of vested interests” were responsible for the current woes of the nation.
Discussing the extent to which democracy has been smeared by the ruling APC, Nwosu said, “Our country is bleeding profusely, the surgical team seems to be a cult of vampires,” adding, “worse still, the ethical compass is being regulated by provincial capons.
“The Nigerian state, and the democratic space, is under capture. All institutions of state are at the whims of persons who undermine our democracy, and a list of men and women, who Nigerians believe should belong to the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“The country is challenged. Our democracy, most especially, is grossly challenged. Our people are suffering; apart from Nigeria being adjudged the poverty capital of the world; the nation’s statistics in all dimension look awful. The worst is that the tripod on which our leadership and governance structures and processes rest is tragically infested.
“There is no arm of the tri-cameral system we practice that is spared; not the Executive arm, not the Legislative or the Judiciary. They suffer from the same disease. I do not expect any miracles; nothing good, but collective amnesia, hallucination and death, comes from a poisoned chalice.”
The ADC national chairman, however, enjoined Nigerians not to despair in the face of the current ineptitude and unhealthy situation they had been thrusted into by the ruling APC and the Buhari administration as the opposition was not resting on its oars to restore sanity to the governance of the country in the nearest future.
“However, we will not dwell on our litany of woes. All our national failures and all-round maladies will be addressed when we succeed in bringing the tripod organ back to health,” he said.
Nwosu, who was emphatic about the resolve of the ADC to sustain commitment to the pursuit of democratic tenets and principles, noted, “After the very horrendous general elections of 2019, it takes only passion for the country to regroup and maintain focus in pursuit of what looks like a herculean venture,” stating that the ugly incidents that characterized the polls put concerned Nigerians in shock.
He, however, expressed the party’s resolve to continue the pursuit, saying, “As passionate and thoughtful change agents, the thrust remains to put our country on the transformation pathway.”
Nwosu assured that the ADC would remain true to its mission and values, adding that it would not betray the vision of becoming the option for the Nigerian people and country.
Efforts by the The Point to get the reaction of the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, to the allegations by the opposition parties proved abortive.
Issa-Onilu did not pick calls made to his phone and he also did not reply text messages sent to him as of the time of writing this report.
However, while also lamenting the ordeal of the opposition in the 2019 general elections, the ADC chairman expressed dismay with what he described as the “political immaturity” of the ruling APC to tolerate and regard the rights of the opposition.
“I feel so sorry for our country. For the 2019 general elections, Mr. President ordered the military hierarchy to do battle with the Nigerian electorate,” he said, alleging that the Presidency and the APC unleashed soldiers on the people.
Discussing how the APC orchestrated the vote-buying that allegedly railroaded them to power, Nwosu said, “The Vice President moved from one market to another, across the country, sharing N10,000 in the day and at night, in company with other APC chieftains, sharing wands of Dollars.”
Speaking on how democracy was allegedly further defaced in the states, the ADC chairman said, “At the state level, APC and other parties in control of the states opened the treasury, paying for votes and promoting electoral fraud,” adding that these electoral frauds were committed in collaboration and collusion with the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“The story of our election is a shame, and observers, local and international, and the world, are still alarmed. As if the charade is not enough, the tribunals and Judiciary are worsening the pains and stench. The truth is that when persons whom state care is bequeathed upon, fail to discharge this responsibility with integrity, there are consequences,” he said.
While saying that members of the ADC refused to join the ruling party of infamy, he assured that the opposition party would continue to stay committed to the vision of restoring the nation to its old path of glory.
Commenting on why only few ADC flagbearers won the elections, he said, “We did not meet our projections; there was no way we could have. Did all our candidates deserve to win? I can say without fear of contradiction that, had the systems and institutions operated in assured standard principles and practice, forty per cent of ADC candidates would have been elected.”
Nwosu commended the various flag-bearers of the ADC across the states of the Federation, saying, “Do not despair, you all worked very hard and deserved to win. You are heroines and heroes; the nation still awaits you.”
He particularly commended Mr. Leke Joseph Abejide, Peter Abiola Makinde of Ondo State, and Jimoh Olaifa Aremu of Ogun, who were elected into the ninth National Assembly on the platform of the ADC.
“The ADC has a fair spread in the state Houses of Assembly nationwide. I congratulate you and your constituents for fighting on and resisting all threats and inducements to shame all those who stand against democratic ethos in our land,” he said.
He further commended the party elected legislators for “defying the toxic democratic space to make sure that ADC flags are hoisted in arenas, corridors, and offices in the legislative arm of the Three Arms Zone, and across the country.”
The ADC national chairman expressed hope that the party “will surely have 23 three members representing the party nationwide in various offices when the Tribunals dispense with all the cases,” adding, “The number will include at least one senator.”
Sounding a note of warning to the lawmakers who emerged on the platform of the ADC, the chairman said, “The Nation expects so much from us; as elected members, in a true democracy, you have become the mirror that now showcases ADC in action. Therefore, the eyes of the world are on you.”
Nwosu described the ADC as a model party that would remain significant in national issues, adding that its representatives in government must be diligent to “keep their heads and eyes clear while others may be losing theirs.”
Also commenting on the government’s handling of the recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerian and Africans in South Africa, he said, “I was saddened when I heard the shameful utterances of the Nigerian government, and APC party hierarchy,” adding that Adams Oshiomole acted as though he was on drugs, when he called on the government to take over all South African companies in Nigeria.
Describing Oshiomole’s view as a “jaundiced and cowardly proposition,” Nwosu expressed disappointment in the APC, which ruled Edo State for ten years, but failed to create jobs and industries for the unemployed.
He said, “How many industries, schools, and platforms of cultural and social reorientation was the APC able to establish in Edo State? Rather, they fleeced the state, and diverted their money into private estates within Nigeria and overseas.
“At the national level, the sleaze is monumental. Our young men and women are desperately wanting to survive, and they seek asylum all over the world. They are tired of living in the poverty capital of the world that Nigeria has become.”
While saying “xenophobia is not in the culture of the African people and continent,” he blamed the problem on the failure of national leaders.
Nwosu said, “If Africans fight Africans, if African youths fight and hate their colleagues from any part of the continent, it is as a result of the footprints of the current leaders.
“We blame President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, and the current administrators of the African Union. When people without vision, hearts and souls take over governance infrastructure, their misrule, and misadventure cause much havoc and pollute the entire social space. When this happens, the effects can hardly be controlled. You don’t blame the youths. I will never blame the youths. We can only blame our political leaders for playing Russian roulette with state matters and peoples’ lives.”
Speaking on the strategies to reform and strengthen the party for future challenges, Nwosu said, “The people await ADC; we cannot afford to betray their hopes. The National Working Committee (NWC) has organised a Visioning Conference and held series of retreats with a good team of consultants, local and foreign.
“We have a strategic roadmap to take charge of the country democratically and start the healing process. The synopsis of our strategic plan will be presented today. But the formal presentation will be done later because we expect inputs from all stakeholders.
“We have set up a committee of eminent party leaders to help align our vision, mission, shared values, structures, systems, strategies, and styles. The committee is to be co-chaired by Distinguished Senator Patricia Akwashiki, and Prof Adesegun Ojo. Members of the committee include all current members of the House of Representatives, and two members of state Houses of Assembly, the six zonal chairpersons, 12 state chairpersons, and six members nominated by this stakeholders’ conference. This committee may design subcommittees in carrying out its functions.
“They are to also work on filling the Board of Trustees of our party with men and women of integrity, in accordance with the ADC Constitution. At the same time, we have in progress the ‘This Nation Must Not Fail Campaign,’ an ADC initiative being led by Ambassador Esther Audu, and the ADC Youth and Women Summit, chaired by Mrs. Yemi Kolapo and Dr. Safiya Musa. You can see that the NWC and the ADC Ladies are firmly at work.”
