In 8 years, APC ruined progress made by PDP –Spokesman

On Thursday, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed that the gains made by the nation during the main opposition’s 16 years in power had been undermined by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s eight years in power. The PDP also noted that the way the APC has conducted its affairs poses a threat to the democracy and continued existence of the nation’s corporations.

The PDP observed that its era, when it was founded on the idea that power belongs to the people, brought about “the Nigerian golden years” in a statement released to commemorate the anniversary by Debo Ologunagba, the party’s national spokesman.

It said the party had a sustained focus on guaranteeing the rule of law, adherence to the principle of separation of powers, personal freedom of citizens, a free Press, credible electoral process, liberalization of the economy, vast infrastructural development, massive employment and business opportunities, among other initiatives.

The statement noted the PDP’s accomplishments while in power, saying: “It is on record that the PDP administration, through deft management of the economy, achieved $18 billion in debt relief from the Paris and London Clubs, consolidated the banking sector, revolutionised the telecommunication sector, revamped the oil and gas, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture, real estate, and other critical sectors to turn the inherited moribund economy into one of the fastest growing in the world.

“Under the PDP’s result-oriented leadership, our Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) grew to over $8b; our Foreign Exchange Reserves grew from $2bn in 1999 to over $40bn in 2014.

“Today, under the incompetent and corrupt APC administration our FDI plummeted to $0.19bn in 2022.

“The APC government had remained silent to reports by JP Morgan that Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Reserves had fallen to $3.7bn as at the end of December 2022.

“The PDP administration guaranteed a stable economy that boosted domestic and international investors’ confidence in all sectors, grew the Nigeria Stock Exchange into one of the most profitable in the world, achieved food security through massive investment in agriculture with increased purchasing power of citizens which ranked Nigeria as a major development hub with Fitch BB rating under the PDP administration.

“Sadly, all the gains achieved by the PDP have been rolled back by the APC, which in a space of eight years, wrecked our economy and turned our nation into the poverty capital of the world with frightening 35% unemployment rate, where hunger, starvation, strange diseases and sudden deaths now ravage our citizens.

“Under the vicious, corrupt and incompetent APC’s watch, major multinational companies are exiting Nigeria; the Naira has fallen from N197 to US$1 under the PDP to abysmal over N900 to US$1; petrol which sold at N87 per litre by 2015 now sells for over N600 per litre.

“This is in addition to multiple harsh tariffs, taxes and levies imposed on citizens by the APC administration.

“Life in Nigeria under the APC has become very unbearable such that Nigerians are now resorting to suicide and slavery missions abroad as options.

“The fraudulent APC administration has succeeded in mortgaging the future of our nation with the reckless accumulation of N85 trillion foreign debt with no corresponding development project to show for it.

“Typically, the APC has no answer to allegations that bulk of the borrowed funds were looted by APC leaders. It has also not provided answers to the alleged looting of over N20 trillion, including fuel subsidy funds by its leaders.

“While the PDP established the EFCC, and ICPC and fought corruption, the APC adopted corruption as a state policy where government Agencies have become Automated Teller Machines (ATM) of APC leaders and their cronies.

“This corroborates Transparency International (TI)’s rating of Nigeria as the most corrupt West African Nation and ranking 150 out of 180 in the World Corruption Perception Index under the APC.”

On security, the statement affirmed that it is evident that the PDP succeeded in containing terrorism to the fringes by 2015 “only for the APC to import terrorist elements and bandits into the country, as confessed by one of its leaders, to assist the APC to violently rig the 2019 general elections”

It added: “Nigerians can recall how APC leaders openly romanced and even paid money to the terrorists ravaging our country. Our nation now ranks as one of the highest in World Terrorism Index with more than 20,000 citizens reportedly killed under the APC watch since 2015.

“The APC came to power by the instrument of lies and propaganda and seeks to sustain its hold with violence, intimidation, manipulations and election rigging”