stop appropriating to itself the achievements of the immediate past administration of
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Rather, the party advised the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari to hasten and
activate the various economic outlets which have been stagnated as a result of absence
of clear policy directions for the nation.
In a statement yesterday by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the
party said it was disappointing that a government which came to power on claims of
high moral ground, rather than focusing on delivering its promises, is dancing around
the achievements of the previous government in an attempt to make the public believe
that recorded successes in critical sectors are theirs.
“For instance, how do we explain APC’s spirited effort to make the public believe that
the equipping of the country’s military for the fights against insurgency; the turn around
of the nation’s oil refineries; and the polio-free certification of Nigeria were products of
their government even when it is common knowledge that they have not been able to
find their bearing for governance since their election into office.
“If the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) had not been
courageous enough to release those incontrovertible facts that the Goodluck Jonathan-
led PDP administration actually fortified the country’s military before leaving office in
May, the APC would have succeeded in its propaganda against that administration and
led Nigerians to believe that the equipping was a product of President Buhari’s recent
diplomatic shuttles.
“It is an obvious fact that before the May 29 handover to the APC, the Nigerian armed
forces, using these equipment sourced under the watch of the PDP government, had
already pushed the insurgents to the verge of surrender in the Sambisa forest, only for
them to now resurge under the APC-led government due to apparent lack of direction
and confusion that have characterised this administration.
“In the same way, this government has positioned itself to claim credit for the
turnaround and resuscitation of some of the nation’s refineries without reference to the
past administration that initiated and executed the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of
the facilities years back, which dividends the nation now enjoys and which we expect will
result in steady supply of petroleum products in our nation.
“Similarly, informed Nigerians note with dismay how the APC administration has been
celebrating the certification of Nigeria as polio-free in the last one year by the World
Health Organisation (WHO) without giving credit to the PDP-led government under
whose watch the feat was achieved.
“While the PDP well understands the nervousness of the APC and its government in the
challenge of fulfilling their bogus promises upon which they rode to power, such does
not in any way rationalise the resort to deceit and flagrant appropriation of another’s
achievements, a thing no serious, credible and honest government will do”.
The PDP said instead of trying to poach achievements to earn an undeserved praise,
the APC and its government should brace up, articulate a precise economic policy,
assemble an economic team and urgently commence the delivery of their promises for
which they were voted.
According to the PDP, it was unacceptable, not withstanding the reasons being
adduced, for a government in a democratic setting to run for almost three months
without a cabinet and any policy direction whatsoever.
“This is the first time since independence that our nation has stayed without a complete
composition of government for three months. Unfortunately, the negative effect of this
anomaly, which has taken a huge toll on the country’s economy and the welfare of
Nigerians, will be with us in the coming years.
“We express this concern against the backdrop of information that unpatriotic persons
close to government are already hounding civil servants for inflated concessions,
allocations, jobs and other favours being unduly granted, making the system fertile for
heavy financial sleazes in the absence of appropriate statutory supervising officers.
“This is in addition to the avoidable economic downturn now manifesting in the
abandonment of ongoing infrastructural projects, crippling of foreign and domestic
investments and continued slide in the money and capital markets.
“Finally, we want to reiterate our earlier call on Nigerians to continue to pray for
President Muhammadu Buhari, who for obvious reasons is surrounded by people whose
divergent personal interests have become a huge burden on our dear nation, the
integrity of this government, the health of our economy and sustenance of our
democracy,” it said.
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