PDP: APC playing ignorant, they can’t compare with us

The Peoples Democratic Party has called out the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the series of attacks meted out on President Goodluck Jonathan for claiming he handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari a robust economy.

The opposition party said that the ruling APC and their members should be ashamed of themselves for having nothing to point at as achievements in two years.

According to the party, the attacks on Jonathan by the Presidency and some members of the APC were borne out of “ignorance” and “devoid of the sort of critical thinking” expected from highly placed government officials.

This was contained in a statement the PDP released through its spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye on Tuesday. The statement berated the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for its failure to sustain the ‘largest economy’ it inherited from Jonathan.

The statement read, “We have read comments made by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Bolaji Ojo-Abdullahi, Mallam Garba Shehu, Special Assistant to the President on Media, and other senior members of the ruling party such as former Governor, Segun Oni and Dr. Osita Okechukwu, the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria where they attempted to rubbish the comments made by former President Goodluck Jonathan that his administration performed well during his term in office.

“It is our firm belief that these statements were borne out of ignorance, lacking in depth and are devoid of the sort of critical thinking that one would expect from highly placed government officials. However, these officials seem bent on continuing what has become an official position of the ruling party to reduce commentary on public issues, and indeed the art of governance to comedy.

“It is shameful and embarrassing that having been in power for two and a half years, the ruling party is unable to point to cogent, convincing and data driven achievements. Instead, it has spent the bulk of its time designing and implementing a communication strategy around massive propaganda, half truths and outright falsehood in an attempt to continually deceive the Nigerian people.

“As at May 29, 2015, Nigeria was the largest economy in Africa valued at over $500billion. A combination of the incoherent policies and incompetence of the Ruling Party have significantly shrunk the size of the Nigerian Economy since the Inception of the Current Administration.

“As at May 29, 2015, Nigeria was the No. 1 destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa. Up to that point, investors responded to the policies designed and implemented by the Jonathan Administration by investing billions of Dollars in the Nigerian Economy,” the statement continued. In what appears a comparative analysis of economic management of the two administrations, the party scribe noted that prices of goods were fairly stable under Jonathan, in sharp contrast to prevailing circumstances since the ascension of President Buhari to power.”

Read also: Presidency knocks Jonathan, says ‘you left Nigerian economy in tatters’

Adeyeye went further to say that the Jonathan administration maintained a ‘Single Digit Inflation Rate’ for several years.
He said, “Inflation stood at 9.6 per cent at the Inception of the Buhari Administration. The incompetence of the Current Economic Management Team has resulted in inflation rising as high as 18.72 per cent in January 2017 before settling at 16.1 per cent in July 2017. This had led to the Skyrocketing of the Price of goods, services and food items thereby staples unaffordable to millions of Nigerians.

“It is not a coincidence that the last time Nigerians had to deal with the Current level of widespread hunger and lack was when President Muhammadu Buhari held sway as military Head of State between 1984 and 1985. While urging Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used, the party said those throwing jibes at the PDP today once served in one capacity or the other when the party was in power.
“It is important to note that several senior members of APC who constantly feel the need to deride and denigrate our party using falsehoods as a foundation were once members of our party. It is important to point out, for instance, that Alhaji Bolaji Ojo-Abdullahi was a Minister under the Jonathan Administration; Chief Segun Oni was also a former member of our party on whose (sic) platform, he rose to become Governor of Ekiti State.

“Having served in such offices, it does not lie in the mouth of such men to state that PDP failed Nigerians. If these men and others of their ilk find it so convenient to deny their past, we wonder what they will say about the present in the near future,” it said, warning that 2019 is around the corner; a veiled reference to the preparedness of the PDP to bounce back to power.
The war of words between the ruling party and the dominant opposition party has assumed a heightened dimension and political observers believe that the development is indicative of party positioning ahead of the 2019 general elections.
By Ebere Ndukwu …

 

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