The All
Progressive Congress (APC), on Sunday, unveiled its programme of action if
elected into office at the centre come 2015, saying it was poised to address
the problem 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 made available in
Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, saying
the 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 challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and
Presidency image makers, 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 maintained 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.
Source: Tribune
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