Travel By Road From Abuja To Lagos, Visit Markets, Walk The Streets To Understand Nigerians’ Plight, PDP Tells Tinubu
According to the PDP, the hardship was caused by the “ill-implemented and anti-people policies” of the APC.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that President Bola Tinubu’s presidential media chat on Monday night further confirmed the insensitivity of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to the widespread hardship and suffering being faced by Nigerians.
According to the PDP, the hardship was caused by the “ill-implemented and anti-people policies” of the APC.
The opposition party said the presidential media chat also confirmed President Tinubu’s disconnection from Nigerians.
It, therefore, challenged the President to travel by road from Abuja to Lagos and visit markets to better understand the plight of Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, PDP said, “The declaration by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he has no regrets for the sudden removal of fuel subsidy without any cushioning measures to mitigate the resultant crippling effect on the productive sector, high cost of living and associated hardship which is now driving citizens to extreme poverty and early death also confirms APC’s disconnection from the primary purpose of government which is the welfare and security of the citizens.”
According to Ologunagba, “It is instructive that President Tinubu in the chat admitted that Nigerians are bearing the brunt of the failure and inability of the APC administration under his watch to effectively police and secure our nation’s borders as to prevent the smuggling of petroleum products to neighboring countries”.
It said, “The PDP is disturbed that while the APC has failed to account for the proceeds saved from the removal of subsidy, Nigerians are subjected to crushing economic hardship because the APC administration has failed in its fundamental duty of ensuring the territorial integrity of our nation.
“Moreover, Nigerians are appalled that instead of admitting failure and seeking for solutions, Mr. President again claimed that the nation’s economy has improved under his watch when in reality the situation has worsened with a comatose productive sector, deteriorating value of the Naira at N1,700 to the US Dollar, 34.6% inflation and 40% unemployment rates in the last 18 months.”
He said the widespread food stampedes in some parts of the country “which recently led to the death of about 80 Nigerians shows that our nation is indeed in perilous time under the APC.”
Ologunagba said, “The PDP holds that there is no hope in sight under the APC given its failure to embark on meaningful investments in critical sectors including agriculture and food production, electricity, petroleum and gas, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, which are the real drivers of the national economy.
“Also, alarming is President Tinubu’s claim that Nigerians can now freely and safely travel by road despite the horrible reality of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery as well as the worsened condition of highways across the country under the APC.
“The PDP urges President Tinubu to travel from Abuja to Lagos by road, visit any of our markets or take a walk on the street of any city in Nigeria to properly gauge and appreciate the real situation in the country rather than relying on fabricated statistics being bandied by officials of his government.”
