Obviously, 15 Years Of PDP Government Is A Big Waste

History was made in Abuja on Thursday when the leaders, chieftains and members of the fast growing party, All Progressives Congress, during a national summit, presented the parties “Code of Ethics and Roadmap to a New Nigeria” to the public. On the occasion, many speakers discredited the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing it of wasting the mandate given it in the last 15 years.

The APC, a merger of some leading political parties in the country registered on July 31, 2013, has become the greatest threat to the PDP domination of the political theatre.

"APC considers the Nigerian people as our nation’s greatest assets, and will do everything to protect and preserve human life and dignity; upholds a Nigeria bound by the principle of freedom, justice, peace, unity and the rule of law; upholds and respects every individual’s choice of faith under God; has no tolerance for corruption, and will manage Nigeria’s resources responsibly, with a commitment to accountability and pursuit of the pursuit of the greatest good for the greatest number of people, and APC is committed to a strong system of government at the federal, state and local levels as the most effective vehicle for harnessing the diversity and preserving the unity of Nigeria.”

The party’s leaders used the forum to present the mission, commitment, the history of the party and the Code of Ethics to the public with a view to presenting a platform better than the ruling PDP. Speakers urged Nigerians to seize the opportunity provided by the failure of PDP to effect the much-awaited change come 2015.

Presenting the mission, the chieftains said, “The All Progressives Congress is committed to a Nigeria that achieves its full potential and promise. We work towards a nation that is economically and socially vibrant, peaceful, 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 and the places where we live; a nation that recognizes strength in its diversity. A nation where all citizens can earn a respectable living, provide for their families and contribute to the betterment of their communities and a nation of progress.”

“The APC”, as presented by its leaders, “rests on the foundation of democracy, fairness, and the pursuit of opportunity for all citizens, predicated on economic productivity, fair competition and bridging of inequalities; pursues its objectives of increasing economic opportunity, social welfare and progress through a government-led and private sector-driven economy; upholds and respects the interest of one person, one vote grounded in free and fair elections at all levels; upholds and respects the interests of Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups that constitute our nation and recognizes Nigeria’s strategic role on the African continent and commits to the pursuit of a foreign policy that promotes peace, security and our national interest.”

All these were presented by APC chieftains including interim national chairman Chief Bisi Akande, former head of state Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Senator Alimodu Sheriff, Senator Chris Ngige, Chief Audu Ogbe, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, Hajiya Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, Alhaji Mohammed Garba Gadi, Chief Tom Ikimi and Chief Segun Osoba.

The “Draft Code of Ethics” of the party was presented by all the 16 APC governors with the exception of Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State who was represented by his deputy. They also talked about the “Roadmap to a New Nigeria”.

The party, according to the “Roadmap” presented, will create jobs, fight corruption, free relevant quality education, restore Nigerian agriculture, housing plan, healthcare plan for children and adults, social welfare plan for the less advantaged, build roads, power and infrastructure, better manage the natural resources and strengthen peace, security and foreign policy.

Below are excerpts from some of the speeches:
Akande: The future of Nigeria with APC is the future for the Nigerian youths. We will give good education that will make the youth employable.

Buhari: There is no future for Nigeria without addressing the problem of insecurity. Nigeria must be secured. Nigeria must be efficiently managed. The No. 1 problem of Nigeria is insecurity.

Tinubu: APC is not just a party; it is a contract with Nigerians… The PDP should be voted out of power come 2015 and there will be a new Nigeria when APC comes to power.

Onu: Nigeria under APC will be able to play her rightful role which all nations will respect.

Tony Momoh: Freedom is the dividend of democracy. Hospital, good roads and water are expected from any government.

Tom Ikimi: Obasanjo weakened the opposition during his time. He was a dictator who declared in 1999 that he won’t tolerate any opposition party in Nigeria as long as he was president.

Atiku: All ourr efforts to establish a two-party system had been undermined. The PDP government in the last 15 years has failed Nigeria.

Ogbeh: We don’t have problems that are insurmountable. What we want to do now is to do it the best way, which is fixing problem the confronting the economy… APC is set to create employment opportunity for the teeming youths who are being wasted in the labour market.

Sheriff: When APC say that the PDP is bad, then APC has to do well; otherwise what happened to PDP would happen to APC. It is dictatorship that kills PDP; we should avoid dictatorship if we don’t want what happened to PDP to happen to APC.In APC, we speak of a new Nigeria where our God-given human and natural resources are fully harnessed for the greater good. Every time I remember the words of the great Bob Marley, I wonder if he had Nigeria in mind when he sang, “In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.”

Gbajabiamila: We speak of a new Nigeria that can truly be called a federal republic practising a federal system and not a unitary system. We speak of a new Nigeria where other arms of government are truly independent and where the rule of law reigns supreme. We speak very expectantly of a new Nigeria where no child will be left behind and education will be a right and not a privilege and where being shoeless will no longer mean being clueless. A new Nigeria where the word impunity will become a thing of the past and 16 will no longer be greater than 19.

Ngige: Bad judiciary, bad education and so on are the bane of Nigeria. The PDP has nothing for Ndigbo. It is only in the APC there is hope for us.

Gov Ibikunle Amosun: What PDP says is not possible, we APC will make it possible.

Gov Rochas Okorocha: The PDP has written us a cheque that can’t be cashed in any bank of progress.

Gov Oshiomhole: We are committed to build a Nigeria that is economically strong and provides security for the rich and poor. If it is true that we’ve sustained growth over the years; how do we explain the number of the poor? The challenge we face is that we are being fed with the statistics that this country is one of the fastest-growing economies, yet there is nothing to show on ground. APC believes that we must reinvent the industrial base of Ikeja, Apapa, Port Harcourt, and Kano textile industry. There are no miracles in the lives of nations. Nations are built by meticulous planning.

Gov Kwankwaso: We need to train and retrain our security, stop corruption. I don’t know where I would be today without APC, but definitely not in PDP… Nigeria has the potential to stop insurgency but lacks the leadership to effect it. The APC government will put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency.

Poverty, Corruption Rob Nigeria Of Integrity, Greatness – Ezekwesili
Former minister of education Oby Ezekwesili has said corruption and poverty are two factors that have robbed Nigeria of its dignity, integrity and greatness, despite its huge potential at independence.

Speaking in Abuja during the All Progressives Congress (APC) national summit, Ezekwesili blamed corruption for Nigeria’s inability to achieve its potential despite its 100 years of existence.

She said Nigerians are in no way celebrating centenary because Nigerians feel a sense of disappointment.

She said as a result of corruption, despite large revenue accruing to the federal government from the oil sector, Nigeria’s human development index is at the same level with Chad Republic, while its maternal mortality rate is the same with Afghanistan.

She said: “Some people say poverty and corruption are not really a big problem; after all, other countries had corruption and they still developed. I don’t know what script they are reading from. But the script that I read from has clearly shown that poverty and corruption are the two things that rob Nigerians of their dignity.

“Poverty deprives one of the basic necessity and basic services that they need in order to preserve their self-dignity. Poor governance on the hand is what poverty helps to breed.”

She said Nigeria has in the last 50 years earned more than $600 billion from oil revenue, yet more than 60 per cent of its citizens live below poverty line.

She said: “What are the greatest indicators of failure? For 69 per cent of our people in our land to be in the class of poverty is the greatest failure of a country that has inconsiderable revenue from natural resource endowment with its attendant cancerous wasting away on what would have legendarily been the best potential realized economic development.

“The truth is that our country is engulfed in systemic and endemic corruption.”

She blamed the political class for some of Nigeria’s problems, saying the country has been short of leaders who will render selfless service to the country.

She however expressed optimism for the future, saying the level of failure being expressed is not sustainable.

“We shall stop failure at some point. Why am I optimistic? There is a rising crescendo of dissatisfaction with failures among the youth of this country and that gives me some sense of optimism,” she added.