The minority caucus in the House of Representatives, on Friday, said it had taken stock of the performance of the administration of the APC-led Federal Government, describing it as a failure.
This followed the release on Friday of a 45-page document by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, of what he described as the President Muhammadu Buhari ‘giant strides.
However, the House Mnority Caucus stated that the APC administration had failed on all fronts in the last six years, with its failure to “check the worsening insecurity and mass killing of citizens; its intrinsic corruption, mismanagement of our national economy, as well as the unrelenting assault on our national diversity.”
The caucus gave the verdict in a statement by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu.
The statement by the minority caucus partly read, “As lawmakers, our caucus is worried that exclusionist tendencies, trade restrictions, nepotism in government appointments, disregard to rule law, the 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 straits with a disturbing 33.3 per cent unemployment rate, a scary 18.12 per cent inflation rate, over N32.9tn 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 disorganised commercial activities leading to imminent food crisis with the 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.”
It urged the Federal Government to buckle down and use the occasion of May 29 to address the failures of the APC administration by taking urgent steps to tackle insecurity and other problems.
The opposition lawmakers added, “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 down 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.”
PDP cautions Buhari against empty speech, false performance claims
In a related development, the PDP cautioned the President to use the May 29 speech to accept his failure in governance and desist from further exasperating Nigerians with his usual prepared text of false performance claims and empty promises.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, berated the APC for planning to “beguile Nigerians again with a planned fictitious performance campaign, when, in reality, there is no landmark achievement it initiated and completed for the benefit of Nigerians in last six years.”
The statement read, “President Buhari and the APC must know that Nigerians are no longer interested in their stage-managed Presidential addresses as well as the circus show of their so-called APC Legacy Awareness Campaign, particularly in the face of the horrendous situation they have plunged our nation.
“This is because in the last six years, President Buhari’s speeches have always been litanies of false claims, empty promises and lame excuses for failures, which the APC, in its penchant for lies, propaganda and beguilement wants to accentuate with their legacy awareness campaign.
“If indeed the Buhari Presidency and the APC have any achievement to showcase, would it be organising an awareness campaign to seek the understanding of Nigerians for its mass failures?
“It is trite wisdom that their works ought to be speaking for themselves like those of the PDP administration which are still being seen today in every sphere of our national life?
“If they have anything to show, would President Buhari be begging that history should be kind to him for his failures? Would he go to faraway Paris, France, to declare that his administration is being plagued by ill-luck?
“Our party vehemently rejects this attempt by APC leaders to claim that their party failed because of the challenges that have befallen our nation, when in reality, the APC and the Buhari Presidency should be held responsible for their own failures.”
The PDP said Buhari and the APC must provide answers to why they had failed to forcefully condemn acts of terrorism in our country in addition to why they had failed to take decisive steps to vanquish terrorists, bandits and vandals ravaging the country.
