PDP Governors Knock Buhari, APC Over Insecurity, economy
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rose from their meeting on Monday and declared Nigeria has worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
The Governors also demanded immediate actions from the National Assembly on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill vetoed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Governors, under the auspices of the PDP Governors Forum (PGF), said Nigeria fared better until Buhari took over in 2015.
They said insecurity has deteriorated until Buhari, stating it was obvious the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not tackle banditry and insurgency.
The Governors knocked Buhari on worsening insecurity, economic instability and his disagreement on state police, which they said was necessary to tackle insecurity in the country.
In a communique after the meeting at the Government House Rivers, the Governors said: “The meeting lamented the continued state of insecurity in the country, the persistent and ceaseless flow of Nigerians’ blood on a daily basis in many parts of Nigeria, the near collapse of the security situation in Nigeria.
“The strategies to confront terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other criminals are still major problems of the APC administration.
“The meeting expressed regrets that Mr President is unwilling, from his recent comments discountenancing the proposals for state policing, to participate in reviewing the structural problems of tackling insecurity in Nigeria.
“The meeting urges Mr President to reconsider his position and consider decentralisation and restructuring of the security architecture as the most viable solution, together with proper arming, funding and training requirements for security agencies”.
On the vetoed Electoral Amendment Bill, they urged the lawmakers to quickly conclude their deliberations on the bill and take steps to make it an Act before the general elections.
The Governors, in a communique after their meeting at the Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt, appealed to the lawmakers to either expunge the areas the President complained about or override Buhari’s veto.
The communique, which was read by the Sokoto Governor and Chairman of the forum, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said an early conclusion on the Electoral Act was vital for a credible election.
The communique said: “The PDP Governors requested the National Assembly to quickly conclude deliberations on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill either by overriding Mr President’s veto or deleting areas of complaints.
“The meeting advised that the option of sustaining Mr. President’s veto would lead to a quicker resolution and would deny Mr President the opportunity to once again truncate a reformed Electoral jurisprudence for Nigeria. An early concluded Electoral Act is vital for credible elections”.
On the economy, the governors said it had continued to deteriorate and Nigerians had become numb and accustomed to bad economic indices.
While juxtaposing the current economic situation with past indices when the PDP was in power, the Governors said the economy under Buhari was characterised by inconsistent and differential exchange rate regime, high-interest rates, unsustainable unemployment figures and borrowing spree some of which have not been applied to important projects, and other bad economic indicators.
The Governors said: “In particular, it is clear that the APC Government is a massive failure when compared with the records of PDP in government. The PDP handed over a $550 billion economy (the largest in Africa), but under APC, Nigeria is the Poverty Capital of the world.
“In 2015, under PDP, the exchange rate was N198 per Dollar, it is now under APC almost N500 to a Dollar; In 2015, the unemployment rate was 7.3% under PDP, it is now 33%, one of the highest in the world under APC.
“In 2015, the Pump price of Petroleum was N87 per litre, it is now N165 per litre and climbing under APC. Debt Servicing now under APC takes over 98% of the Federal budget. The tale of woe is endless”.
The PDP Governors further noted that the management of the country’s oil and gas resources, the administration of Federation Account remittances had remained opaque, confusing and non – transparent.
They urged eligible Nigerians of all walks of life, particularly the youths, to register en masse with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to exercise their franchise in the 2023 general elections.
Those who attended the meeting were Governors Aminu Tambuwal(Sokoto); Udom Emmanuel(Akwa Ibom); Senator Douye Diri (Bayelsa); Samuel Ortom(Benue); Ifeanyi Okowa(Delta); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu); Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Seyi Makinde(Oyo); Umaru Fintiri(Adamawa) and Bala Muhammed(Bauchi).
– The Nation
