*Pix above: PBAT and APC
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has told the Peoples Democratic Party to “bury the thought of controversial policy reversal” by the President Bola Tinubu-led government. It rather urged that PDP supports the government in delivering on the Renewed Hope agenda of the President.
The party also dispelled claims by the opposition that it rigged the September 21 governorship election in Edo State as part of plans to foist a one-party system and totalitarian rule on the country.
Recall that on Thursday, the board of trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had asked President Bola Tinubu to review his economic policies and reverse the petrol price hike.
The PDP BoT’s position is contained in a communique issued on Thursday after its meeting in Abuja.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited increased the pump price in its retail stations in Lagos to N998 per litre and N1,003 per litre in Abuja.
The hike in price of the product has elicited criticism from Nigerians with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) saying the decision will worsen inflation.
“The BoT expresses serious concerns over the worsening economic hardship, acute food crisis and general sense of misery, despondency, uncertainty and hopelessness in the country occasioned by the anti-people policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration,” the communique reads.
“The BoT demands that the APC administration immediately review its policies and take immediate steps to ensure the reduction in the price of fuel, make key investments towards food production, revamp our manufacturing sector to stimulate employment opportunities and mitigate the suffering of Nigerians.”
The BoT faulted the conduct of the recent governorship election in Edo, alleging that the result was manipulated.
The BoT said the party will take every “legitimate step” to recover the mandate “freely given to our party by the people of Edo state”.
The members said Nigerians will resist any plan to rig the November 16, 2024 governorship election in Ondo state.
But reacting to the allegations on Friday, the APC Director of Publicity, Alhaji Bala Ibrahim, in an interview with Daily Trust stated that the ruling party had no intention of jeopardising democracy.
Ibrahim said, “The APC as a ruling party is not intending to foist on the country anything that is going to injure democracy.
“The APC is a progressive party; it is a party that is out to bring changes that will bring about dividend of democracy to the people. Democracy is only vibrant when there is opposition, but let the opposition be constructive, not destructive.
“The country had been bleeding heavily under the leadership of the PDP; they mismanaged the country. So Nigerians are still watching and beginning to understand what change means.”
Ibrahim said the policies of the APC-led government were not anti-people but aimed at uplifting their socio-economic well-being in the near future.
He urged the opposition to bury the thought of controversial policy reversal and support the government.(agency)///
Tinubu’s Govt won’t reverse its anti-human policies – APC tells PDP
