The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has asked Nigerians to hold the party accountable only on its manifesto saying that is the only binding document for electoral promises.
Speaking exclusively to AN24 Television against the backdrop of insinuation in some quarters that the APC may have started double-speaking on its campaign promises and terms of deliverables recently in Lagos State, the party spokesman said it will be wrong for Nigerians to judge it with roadmap it organised as a prelude to the 2015 general elections.
“Political parties are rated with two main documents and these are the party’s constitution and its manifesto,” said Mohammed.
He further stated that roadmaps are like talk shops where all manners of people from different professional and political leanings are brought together to look at current socio-economic and political situation in the country, with a view to providing workable practical solutions.
Reacting to some reports of alleged double-speak or what some Nigerians have termed back tracking on campaign promises by the ruling party, Mohammed said: “There’s nothing like back tracking as the APC is doing everything possible within the available resources to meet up with its election promises.”
On the issue of energy, the APC mouthpiece said what the party came up with at the roadmap was embedded in its manifesto and urged Nigerians to endeavour to look through the party’s position on the provision of energy in its document.
AN24 can report that under section 2.1 of APC manifesto, the party provides the following:
⦁ Undertake an urgent power audit of Nigeria’s energy needs.
⦁ Ensure Nigeria meets all its power needs within the next ten years.
⦁ Encourage power generation companies to build a new generation of power plants.
⦁ Extend our national and regional power grid and gas pipelines to improve energy generation, transmission and distribution across the country.
⦁ Increase Nigeria’s refining capacity so that we can shift more of our gas supply to domestic power stations to end erratic power supplies.
⦁ Expand the rural electrification programme and promote the use of independent ‘off-grid’ renewable energy schemes for isolated communities.
⦁ Encourage development of sustainable renewable energy taking account of regional factor endowments.
The APC has come under heavy criticism recently on the issues of security and power generation as more Nigerians have been asking questions on when the insurgency in the North East of the country will be stopped.
Mohammed said President Muhammadu Buhari has approached the issue of security tactically, noting that results of the recent moves by the President will soon yield positive dividends.
He said Nigerians should begin to look at the impact of the President’s fight action to end the insurgency in the northern part of the country from the critical perspectives.
He noted that the issue of insurgency had gotten so bad that the only approach adopted by President Buhari is what can bring a lasting end to it.
Mohammed reassured Nigerians that the APC government will not go back on its word.
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