The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday scolded President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over worsening poor governance in the country. PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, in a State of the Nation address at the 90th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the PDP National Headquarters, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, in the briefing emphasized that before the COVID-19 lockdown, the country was “already going through some socio-political and economic challenges all arising from the poor governance delivery by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).” He stated that the security problem of the country has refused to abate, instead, it has multiplied with no clear solution in sight.
According to Secondus, “President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC Government, under whose watch the situation got worsened and complicated, has remained clearly helpless and incapable of providing the needed leadership.”
The PDP National Chairman was of the view that the recent #Endsars protest and its fallout in several states of the federation was caused by the hardship in the country because of governance failure. He noted that the party at different times “both in NEC and other platforms PDP have had cause to cry out that the APC administration was doing nothing to improve the lives of the people; that the youth unemployment situation in the country was growing at an alarming rate.
“We had also expressed deep concern at the growing human rights abuses in the system all due to the glaring indifference of the APC administration.”
Secondus maintained that the consequences of all these came to the fore when the youths, in the month of October poured out their anger on the country through a nationwide protest. “Even though the protest was triggered off by accumulated Police brutality, particularly, by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), it developed into a wider rebellion against injustice and poor leadership in the country.
“One significant fallout from the protest was the exposition of the poor management of the COVID-19 palliatives.” Secondus declared.
The National Chairman recalled that the PDP had earlier cried out that the COVID-19 was becoming a huge window of corruption by federal government operatives.
“Perhaps, the most annoying aspect of the protest was that the causalities recorded, including the Tuesday, 20th October night shooting of protesting youths at Lekki Toll Gate, killing and injuring many, would have been averted if the government was responsive. Instead, it took President Muhammadu Buhari almost two weeks of persuasion and cajoling from many Nigerians, including the Senate, before he agreed to address the Nation on the issue after the damage was already done, youths killed by security agencies and property destroyed,” he pointed out.
Secondus stated that the protest opened a fresh dimension in the government/citizen relations and underscores the fact that some fundamental actions are needed to get the polity going on the right track.
“The federal government should address the fundamental issues raised by the youths rather than the counterproductive strategy of seeking to hound and intimidate perceived leaders of the peaceful protest by seizing their travel documents, freezing their accounts and arrests. It must be emphasized that peaceful protest is a right in every democracy and guaranteed by the country’s constitution,” Secondus advocated.