The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised the APC’s stance as insensitive, arguing that labelling and suppressing peaceful protests reflects a disregard for Nigerians’ suffering.
The PDP said data indicated a worsening economic situation, with millions plunged into poverty and businesses shuttered due to government policies.
Recall that youths and women had taken to the streets of Minna on Monday, decrying economic hardship and rising living costs under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government. The protest, however, drew swift condemnation from the ruling party, which accused opposition groups of orchestrating unrest.
National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, in a statement, stated, “The protests in Minna and Kano on Monday were the manifestation of this devious and unpatriotic plot. That the protests happened simultaneously in both cities is not coincidental. It bears the bold stamp of an orchestrated and coordinated effort to instigate unrest and undermine the government.
“This mercenary opposition tactic is a clear and present threat to public peace and national security.”
Reacting, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, described APC’s action as insensitive.
“The action of the APC in threatening Nigerians for exercising their democratic and Constitutional right to protest in the face of misrule, agonising poverty, hunger, killings, and other harrowing experiences under the Tinubu administration shows that the APC is insensitive and relishes the life-discounting situation in the country, he said.
PDP national publicity scribe said the approach by the APC, instead of listening to the people, is not only offensive but akin to pushing Nigerians to the wall and daring them to do their worst.
The statement read in part “It is an assault on the sensibility of the people that rather than providing answers to how the Tinubu-led APC government in a space of nine months, turned the nation’s economy upside down leading to terrifying food scarcity and catastrophic high cost of living, the APC is seeking to label and clamp down on the suffering masses.
“The APC is insensitive to the fact that because of its policies more than 104 million citizens have sunk deeper into poverty; Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals with families now going to bed on empty stomachs as poverty rate soars to over 46%.
“Any government that has an idea of macro-economic policy management ought to have recognized that the suffocating policies of abrupt increase in the pump price of petroleum products, high cost of electricity and arbitrary floating of the Naira as executed by the Tinubu administration without due considerations, would have excruciating consequences to the economy as being witnessed today.
“These thoughtless policies by President Tinubu and the APC are responsible for the crippling of the productive sector with a 28% inflation rate, crashing of the Naira from N167 to over N1,500 to a Dollar, closure of millions of businesses and mass exodus of international companies from Nigeria resulting to a distressing 41% unemployment rate and unbearable pressure on millions of families across the country.
“Is it not provocative that in the last eight years and nine months, instead of deploying the nation’s resources for the improvement of critical infrastructure and the productive sectors, Nigerians have witnessed massive looting of over N20 trillion by APC leaders and its officials in government through direct pillaging of government vaults, budget padding, contract inflation, oil subsidy scam, palliative racketeering and phony programs which have no benefit and consequence to the lives of the citizens?
“Moreover, the APC and the Tinubu administration have remained insensitive to the mass killings, kidnapping, and other acts of terrorism ravaging the country without proffering any concrete action plan and policies to address this multifarious consuming carnage.
“Since President Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023, no fewer than 5000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorists emboldened by the laidback attitude and body language of Mr. President who has failed to show seriousness on issues of security or empathy to victims either by words or action.
“It is sad that in all of these, President Tinubu is missing in action as he holidays in France at the expense of the Nigerian treasury.
“The APC must understand and come to terms with the fact that there is frustration in the land because of the suffocating economic and social policies; laidback attitude to security and massive corruption in the Tinubu administration.”
Likewise, PDP must not only politicize the failure and hopelessness APC because what people are passing through is real and unbearable. Let there be togetherness to savior the lives of citizens.