The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has noted that surviving the year 2021 by Nigerians under President Muhammadu Buhari and his ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) was a miracle.
The main opposition party gave this position in its New Year message issued Friday by Hon. Debo Ologunagba, its National Publicity Secretary where it also rejoiced with citizens on the dawning of the new year.
While urging them to use the occasion to rekindle the virtues of love, unity, social justice as well as the quest for good governance in our country, the PDP stated that “surviving the year 2021 under the repressive, treasury-looting, completely rudderless and lying All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration not only calls for a sober reflection but also for an unwavering determination to rescue our nation from misrule.”
The party maintained: “It is indeed a miracle that our nation survived the last six years of massive human rights violation, abuse of process, extra-judicial killings, stagnated infrastructure, excruciating economic hardship, escalated terrorism, mass killings and unbridled treasury-looting that have characterized the arrogant and incompetent APC administration.
“The New Year therefore presents us as a nation with the special opportunity to put aside all forms of divisiveness, fear and narrow-mindedness and pursue a new beginning; to patriotically confront the challenges of bad governance and work as one people to salvage our nation in line with the Rescue and Rebuild mission of the PDP.
“We must therefore as a people, brace up and use all facilities within the ambit of the law to firmly resist the divisive machinations, propaganda, lies, (such as reeled out by the Federal Government on Thursday, December 30, 2021) as well as the electoral manipulations and rigging devices of the APC and its government.
“Of course, the APC and its government have lined up many more litany of lies, false promises and fake performance claims which they intend to dish out as new year messages in a fresh bid to hoodwink the people and continue in their culture of impunity and recklessness.”
The PDP counseled the APC to desist from such “as Nigerians no longer believe the highfalutin lies and deception of the APC, having realized and admitted the error of not asking for a proper dissection, direction and interrogation of the promised change by a bunch of inchoate sailors clobbered together for one purpose, to wit: hijack the people’s trust for remote private gains.”
The statement said that the APC and its government should rather use the new year to review “their anti-people policies, end their corruption and take urgent steps towards economic recovery by adopting a more transparent and inclusionist approach to governance; investing more on our productive sectors and being open to suggestions and constructive criticisms from Nigerians.”
On security, the PDP admonished the APC government to get committed to the fight against terrorism by adopting proactive measures including extensive intelligence gathering for tactical operations.
“Furthermore, Nigerians expect the Buhari Presidency and the APC to use the New Year to apologize for their atrocities by showing empathy to the families of the victims of mass killings under their watch and prepare to exit our political scene in 2023.
“On our part, the PDP is repositioned and already leading the charge to Rescue and Rebuild our country. This mission is paramount in our collective quest for a prosperous and secure nation,” the PDP maintained.
