The All Progressive Congress (APC), has said if it is elected into the Presidency come 2015, Nigerians can expect that they will solve the problems of corruption, food security, power, transportation, education, bring about devolution of power, ensure accelerated economic growth as well as affordable health care.
The party made the declaration in a statement on Sunday made available in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, in which it released its programme of action represented the APC’s eight cardinal programmes, which would be pursued vigorously to rescue the long-suffering citizens and the country.
The party also threw a challenge at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Presidential spokespersons, including Chief Doyin Okupe, to tell Nigerians why the PDP had failed to lift the country in the last 14 years that it had been in power.
According to the party, the cardinal programmes, which it said would be articulated in the days ahead, would place emphasis on “war against corruption, food security, accelerated power supply, integrated transport network, free education, devolution of power, accelerated economic growth and affordable health care.”
The party promised that in executing the listed programmes, it would be guided by certain philosophy and principles, belief in and the fear of God, while upholding the rule of law, preserving national unity, pursuit of a just and egalitarian society, among others.
“Our guiding philosophy will derive its impetus from these seven principles: Belief in, and the fear of God; upholding the rule of law; preserving national unity; pursuit of a just and egalitarian society; building of strong institutions; commitment to social justice and economic progress; and promoting representative and functional participatory democracy.
“These are the issues we will be enunciating in the days ahead as we steer the politics of our nation away from jejune matters that are at the core of the PDP misrule to serious issues of relevance that will benefit our people under an APC federal government,” the party said.
The party restated its belief that the PDP had been a failure and, therefore, challenged the party and the presidency’s spokespersons, including Chief Okupe, to tell the citizenry why the PDP had failed to lift the country in the 14 years that it had been ruling the country instead of peddling concocted tales about the opposition.
“Issues, issues and issues. These are what Nigerians are interested in, not continuous muck-raking about opposition leaders like General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“For example, Nigerians want to know why the country can still not feed itself after 14 years of endless promises by the PDP; Nigerians want to know why they cannot be protected by their government when the security of lives and property is the rason d’etre of any government.
“Nigerians want to know why over 40 million youth cannot get a job under a government that gleefully touts a 6% GDP growth; Nigerians want to know how 400,000 barrels of oil are being stolen daily and who the thieves are.
“Nigerians want to know why the country is more divided than ever under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan, and why corruption has become a bigger monster in the years under the PDP,” the APC queried.
The party, while saying that the 2015 elections would be fought on the platform of issues, stated that that accounted for the reason its leaders had put national interests above personal considerations.
It said that the aim was to rescue the country from the clutches of the PDP and “a mediocre presidency, both of which have failed the citizenry and dimmed their hopes, not because of power-for-power sake, which is the mantra of the do-nothing PDP.”
Also, the APC asked the presidency to tell Nigerians why it had continued to defy the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rules by continuing to campaign for the 2015 poll.
The APC declared that a party that defied rules and lied through its teeth could not be trusted to rule over a people who were eager for their country to join the comity of developed nations.
“While one of the PDP gong-bearers, Okupe, was telling Nigerians that President Jonathan has not informed anyone that he will contest in 2015, his wife was coercing hundreds of hapless women, including those in uniform, into a show of shame tagged a ‘Peace Rally,’ but in essence a campaign for President Jonathan ahead of 2015.
“Defying INEC, this brazen campaign featured women clad in specially-made ‘ankara’ that bore the picture of President Jonathan and reminds one of the disgraceful days of the late despot Mobutu Sese Seko of former Zaire, and the late clownish leader of Uganda, Idi Amin. What a company to keep in the 21st century!,” the party wondered.
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