The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has carpeted the New Year message of 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, describing it as misleading and an attempt to score cheap political points.
The governing party put a lie to the allegation by the former Anambra Governor that the political, economic and security situation in the country were worsening daily.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka in a statement in Abuja on Thursday noted that Obi’s assessment was at variance with all indicators that showed that the nation’s economy is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors.
Dismissing the LP former standard bearer, Morka noted: “while Nigerians celebrated the new year with hope for a more glorious 2025, Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, was seemingly stuck in replay of his jangling, gloom-ridden wishlist for our country.
“Obi’s new year message, in which he claimed that the political, economic and security situation of our dear country is worsening daily, is misleading and appears intended to score cheap political points.
“This claim, at a time when all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria’s leading doomsayer.”
Setting the records of achievements of the APC-led administration, Morka maintained: “In reality, 18 months later, the economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, has showed steady record of progress – massive balance of trade surpluses; trillions in stock market wealth creation; a surge in foreign direct investments as a result of increased confidence in the economy; enhanced foreign reserve; significant decline in debt servicing ratio from 90 percent to about 64 percent; higher incomes for farmers; massive increase in federal allocation to states and local governments; deliberate and patriotic efforts to plug leakages and shore up the nation’s revenue base; restart of moribund Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries; remarkable improvement in oil production and export of petroleum products; the decimation of terrorist leaders and improvement in the security situation, and numerous other measures to meet the $1trillion economy target of this administration.”
The ruling party further argued: “Despite these and other initial beneficial outcomes of ongoing unprecedented reforms, the administration is doubling its effort to ensuring that the reforms deliver their fullest benefits for the sustainable growth and transformation of our country.”
APC recalled the Presidential New Year message acknowledged that the “cost of food and essential drugs remained a significant concern for many Nigerian households.” Stressing that to reverse this trend, Mr. President assured that his administration was committed to lowering food prices by boosting food production and promoting local production of drugs.
The party also highlighted President Tinubu’s resolve to crash the current inflation rate from 34 percent to 15 percent in the course of this fiscal year as a move to addressing the threat inflation poses to the country’s economy.
“With the vigour in the administration’s war on corruption, evidenced by ongoing investigations and trial of well-heeled Nigerians, Obi’s pontification on the urgent need to tame corruption is a clear case of carrying coal to Newcastle.”
Faulting the former Anambra Governor, the governing party noted: “It is a thing of irony that Peter Obi, who now arrogates to himself to be omniscient and philosopher’s stone, when it comes to our nation’s challenges, left no record of significant achievement, let alone transformation of any kind, in his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State.
“Like his co-travellers in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Obi’s obsessive pessimism and endless but futile effort to incite public outrage against the administration is borne out of their realization that President Tinubu is unwittingly cementing their ultimate political irrelevance by his visionary and full-throttle reform and transformation of the fundamental pillars of our national life.
Appealing for citizens support and patience, the ruling party assured Nigerians that ‘under the banner of the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Tinubu is dutifully turning our nation’s fortunes around.
“He deserves the support and patience of Nigerians in order to consolidate on the deep economic foundation he has laid, and deliver a vibrant, prosperous new Nigeria for the good of all. We urge Nigerians to remain confident of better days ahead.”