By Moses Okorie
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of instigating anarchy, which the party said it is degrading to his status as former vice president.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka said Atiku sounded a false alarm about “hunger and insecurity”, dismissed the transformative reforms of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration, and likened Nigeria’s situation to circumstances that justified historic violent revolutions and uprising in France, Russia and the Arab Spring.
APC said while garbed as a critique of the economic policies of President Tinubu’s administration, Atiku’s statement is nothing short of a tacit instigation of a revolution in Nigeria, and that his statement is reckless, irresponsible, unbefitting and degrading to his status.
“As a two-term Vice President, Atiku and his PDP, at the time, had the opportunity, backed by humongous oil revenues, to eradicate hunger, poverty and insecurity. Atiku and his PDP failed to do so. In fact, they made absolutely no impression against hunger, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria. They governed for 16 years, did not and could not eradicate hunger, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria.
“Instead, Atiku and his PDP democratized hunger and poverty in our country. They plundered and looted our treasury, and enthroned corruption and profligacy as state policy. Atiku and his PDP cemented the sordid foundations of hunger, poverty and insecurity that President Tinubu is battling courageously and relentlessly to defeat, with growing success.
“As Vice President, Atiku was clueless about solving Nigeria’s economic challenges. As a forever-presidential aspirant, he remains eminently clueless about what it takes to tackle our country’s economic challenges. Atiku’s confession to the looting of $16 billion meant to provide electricity to Nigerians, under his watch as Vice President, is a stark reminder of his record of incompetent and failed leadership.
“Now out of power, Atiku thinks himself as possessing knowledge and capacity he so miserably lacked when he had the opportunity to govern as Vice President. That is utterly delusional. Nigerians know this and it is the reason they have serially rebuffed his attempts to be president”.
APC urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in support of President Tinubu’s administration as it continues in its unyielding efforts to build a nation of our collective dream.