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Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has described ‘the confession on national television’ by the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo that “Nigerians are hungry” as a vindication of his long-held position that the APC administration was nothing but a monument of poverty, insecurity and scandals of unprecedented proportion.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, Phrank Shaibu said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in its desperation to employ an “attack dog” to spearhead its onslaught against the opposition parties in the months leading to 2023 general elections ended up conceding the very crucial position of projecting the public image and reputation of its presidential candidate to a man noted for “scoring own-goals.”
Keyamo had on Sunday, during an interview on Channels Television said Nigerians were hungry and can’t wait for a new leader who will provide solution to their hunger.
But in a reaction, Shaibu said Keyamo’s statement was a validation of our position that the APC government has frittered away the goodwill of Nigerians, no thanks to gross incompetence and waffling leadership that has continued to shock the citizenry.
“A party who asked Nigerians to dream again has succeeded in turning their dreams into nightmares simply because of their incompetence. Nigerians are worse off today than they were when the APC took over on May 29th 2015, and the country under the president’s watch has become more divided today than at any other time since the civil war of 1967 to 1970,” Shaibu said.
Shaibu said no one ever imagined that any administration would ever make things worse than they have been, citing the case of power which has worsened so much that the only point of light for a majority of Nigerians has been the sun during the day and the moon at night!
The Special Assistant to the PDP Presidential Candidate said he was in agreement with Keyamo that although the Buhari administration continues to beat its chest over a supposed economic growth year in year out, it has shut its eyes to the paradox of worsening poverty among Nigerians, as attested to recently by its own agency, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the bureau, the poverty headcount has jumped from 40.1 % in 2018/2019 to 42.0% in 2020 and 42.6% in 2022, translating to 95.1 million Nigerians living in poverty, despite a 3.54% gross domestic product GDP) growth in the country’s economy.
“I have consistently maintained that economic growth in itself is meaningless if it does not translate to better life for millions of our citizens living in poverty. I hate to say it, but the records of the Buhari’s administration’s agency, the NBS has proven that this is true,” Shaibu said.
Shaibu lamented that Nigerians had since lost hope concerning APC’s ability to ensure the security or life and property, a key responsibility of any government; check runaway corruption and prevent shameful scandals.
“As at the last count, over 35,000 Nigerians have been sent to their early graves by the rampaging Boko Haram and so-called bandits, as the APC Administration flip-flops on the right approach to end the crisis.
“Add this to the continuing cases of kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes across the country, and one begins to wonder whether Nigeria is on the road to Somalia, or if indeed Buhari has abandoned his duty post,’’ Shaibu lamented.
The Special Assistant to the former Vice President said the APC administration’s seven years in office have been years characterized by scandals and monumental corruption that have put a lie to the president’s pledge, at his inauguration, to fight corruption without fear or favour.
“Under President Buhari’s watch, the Accountant General of the Federation alone stole N109billion; aside fuel subsidy rackets and social safety net schemes being perpetrated by incredibly-brazen public officials, emboldened by the impunity that now characterizes government affairs. Yet, there is no evidence that these officials will be robustly prosecuted and be made to answer for the crimes they are alleged to have committed,’’ the statement said.
Shaibu said, with serving ministers like Keyamo coming forward to render damning verdict of gross ineptitude against the APC administration, the electorate now know that they have no option than to reject the clueless, incompetent All Progressives Congress (APC) that has put the country in the mess that it has now found itself.