By Lawrence Olaoye and Mohammed Umar-Puma
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), otherwise known as the Legacy Party, yesterday unveiled its manifesto with security and job creation at the top of its agenda.
This is coming as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the manifesto unveiled yesterday by the opposition APC an empty agenda devoid of character and depth.
Party leaders, who took turns to address the crowd, all agreed that impunity and lack of respect for rule of law under the present PDP leadership were the reason for many woes bedeviling the nation.
Its interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande said APC evolved mainly to right wrongs and many “misplaced priority” of PDP leadership in the country. He added that the party will do everything possible to protect and preserve the dignity of Nigerians. The party also vowed that it will not tolerate corruption just as it promised to manage the country’s economy responsibly. It added that a strong system of government at all levels would be adopted as vehicles for harnessing the diversity and preserving the unity of Nigeria.
The governorship candidate of the APC in Anambra state, Sen. Chris Ngige, in his speech said that no south easterner will ever become the President of Nigeria under platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
According to him, “The All Progressives Congress is committed to a Nigeria that will achieve its full potential and promise. We will work towards a nation that is economically and socially vibrant, just and secure;a nation where the blight of corruption is no longer tolerated in our political, business or civic affairs; a nation that invests in improving the livelihoods of its people.”
Kano state governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has said that more PDP governors are in the process of joining the APC in order to make it a major political party in the country, adding that any politician who want to win election must follow the masses.
He said “Im very much aware that very soon more governors from PDP will join APC.
Let me say at this moment that I am very much delighted to seat side by side with my colleagues the progressive governors, I am also going to say that very soon many are going to join us.”
Kwankwaso, who described APC as a blessing to him, said the people of Nigeria have already taken the direction of change adding that anybody who wants to win an election must follow them.
“APC is a blessing to me, to all of us here and to Nigeria. Without the formation of APC when it was formed, I wouldn’t know where I would have been today but certainly not PDP.” he said.
Also speaking, Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said APC will change Nigeria from country of importation and put Nigerians back to work. “No miracle in affairs of nation, we must do the right thing, we are not going to have military solution to insecurity if jobs are not created.”
Commenting, Governor Rotimi Ameachi of Rivers state, rejected claims that the APC is a Muslim party stressing that with the calibre of people in the party, the principle of rule of law would take pre-eminence.
The summit was chaired by the Interim Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, Muhammadu Buhari, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, and all the sixteen governors on the platform of the platform of the party.
Meanwhile, the ruling party has said that manifesto unveiled yesterday by the APC was an empty agenda devoid of character and depth.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh said the manifesto which ranked security of lives and property low and gave no clue as to its preparedness to tackle terrorism was a tacit acknowledgment that the APC may be benefiting from the mayhem and knows more than meet the eyes about the spate of terror attacks in the country.
” When last year in its first official outing, the leaders of the APC said terrorism in Nigeria would disappear within 100days of APC leadership, Nigerians did ask if they knew the characters in crime and their sponsors . APC gave silence as an answer while Nigerians kept wondering. Today, the party has released its manifesto with loud silence on the matter so that Nigerians would not raise further questions on the face behind the terrorism mask.”
Taking the APC to task on job creation and war on corruption which the party projected as cardinal on its manifesto, the PDP said the APC has no credible recipe for job creation nor has it shown the strength of character to fight corruption more than the PDP does at the moment.
“The PDP created anti corruption agencies- the ICPC, the EFCC and established the Freedom of Information Act to further give teeth to the war on graft. The PDP led federal government has also shown no preferences in its battle on corruption as senior party leaders as well relations have at one time or another been made to face the law on charges of corruption.”
” On the contrary , the leaders of the APC are the grand patrons of corruption as could be seen from the South West APC states where a kilometre of road is awarded at N1 billion in a topography that compares no where to the marshy South-south and where the self styled leader imperially superintendents the finances of six states with mind boggling cases of corruption. ”
According to the PDP nothing showcases the anti-democratic ambience of the APC than its inability to conduct a properly constituted congresses and convention to elect its substantive officers almost a year after formation, clearing stating that “the strange bed fellows have merged but the structures are refusing to integrate, hence, crisis and disagreements in its ranks. ”
The PDP further warned that the unseen thrust of the APC manifesto is to balkanize Nigeria and cause disaffection among the people, citing the deportation of Nigerians from Lagos by an APC governor.
