APC must exit with Buhari in 2023 – PDP
*Asks leaders of ruling party to speak on restructuring
Tunde Opalana, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to drop the illusion that the ruling party will retain power in 2023.
The PDP said that the current level of disdain Nigerians have for the Buhari – led APC administration clearly indicated that come 2023, the electorate will flush out the party from governance alongside President Muhammadu Buhari who must have completed his second term in office then.
The party castigated the APC administration for failing on all its pre – election campaign promises which include restructuring of the country.
The PDP claimed it was aware of plans by some APC leaders to disown Buhari on the issue of restructuring as a plot to gain sympathy to continue in office after Buhari’s exit in 2023.
It, however warned that such plot would not work because Nigerians are tired of empty promises by Buhari and the APC as a party.
The opposition party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Saturday challenged leaders of APC to speak out on President Buhari’s decision to go back on their party’s campaign promise of implementing an administrative restructuring for the better governance of the country.
The party also tasked APC leaders to respond to their members in the Senate who, through their spokesperson, Senator Ajibola Basiru, have declared that restructuring, as promised by APC, is only a “slogan”, as well as the revelation that neither the APC nor its leaders had submitted any memorandum for the promised restructuring and devolution of power upon which they rode to power in 2015.
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The PDP called out APC leaders including its Caretaker Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni, its National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Nasir el-Rufai, Governor Kayode Fayemi Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed among others, to speak out on Mr. President’s recent declaration on restructuring as well as the position of the Senate.
“Our party holds that the inaction of the APC in the face of the dismissive declaration by the Buhari Presidency that Nigerians, who they had promised restructuring, should now channel their demands to the National Assembly, only goes to further validate the assertions among Nigerians that the APC is a deceptive power-grabbing platform, which is not interested in governance or fulfilling its promises to Nigerians.
“It is very disappointing that almost six years after riding to power on the promise of restructuring, the Buhari Presidency has made no concrete effort towards forwarding an executive bill to the National Assembly on the matter, only to now ask Nigerians to carry their burden to the legislative houses.
“Our party asserts that beside President Buhari, other bigger culprits of the failure on restructuring are the silent leaders of the APC who, despite promising restructuring, are clandestinely supportive of its huge betrayal.
“The APC must therefore take responsibility for on-going challenges to our national unity, having failed to fulfill the promises they made on restructuring such as devolution of power and true federalism.
“We are already aware of plots by certain APC leaders to recourse to condemning President Buhari as being singularly responsible for the failures of his administration and use such as narrative to beguile Nigerians again with another round of fake promises on restructuring.
“In any case, the APC cannot beguile Nigerians again with their planned disowning of President Buhari in 2023 as the people are already aware of its plots”, the statement read.
The PDP challenged the APC to counter its position by speaking out and urging President Buhari to immediately formulate an executive bill as well as taking steps, as a party, for a private member bill on the promised restructuring, as contained in its manifesto.
