2015 poll-- APC ready to restore hope to Nigerians--- Odigie-Oyegun

 

               All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chief John Odigie-Oyegun yesterday said the party will restore hope to traumatised Nigerians once it is elected to power next year.

               He said APC believes that Nigeria can be great again if competent leadership and a determined followership work together.

He said the difference between APC and the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is good performance by APC governors and leaders at all levels  warning the PDP against using religion to divide Nigeria

Oyegun gave the ray of hope in an address at the party’s Extra-Ordinary National Convention at the Old Parade Ground in Abuja.

He said: “Now, our party, the APC, truly cares; we care about our citizens. We care about our youths. We care about our elderly. We are ready to restore hope to our traumatised people. We are programmed to return Nigeria to the path of growth and development, create jobs, modernise infrastructure and make life more abundant for our people.

“For those who say there is no difference between us and the other party, simply tell them that wherever APC is in government, services run efficiently and lives are saved.

“ Take, for instance, the success stories of the governments of Lagos and Rivers states that successfully halted the outbreak of Ebola that could have devastated the entire country.

“Through strong management and coordination of services from the tracking and quarantining of those who had come in contact with Ebola victims to the sealing of medical facilities, the Ebola epidemic was contained and the many lives that would have been lost without such firm, timely and decisive actions were saved.”

The chairman pleaded with Nigerians to give APC a chance to effect change  in 2015 to save the nation.

“Today, our people are more divided along ethnic and religious lines than at any other time in her history. Just because they want to win elections at all cost, they have pitched Christians against Muslims, Southerners against Northerners, and one ethnic group against the other.

To Odigie-Oyegun the manner in which two APC states managed the Ebola outbreak enough proof to Nigerians that APC has the antidote to the nation’s problems.

He said: “The secret of the success of the two APC states in handling of the Ebola crisis was majorly because the two governments had learnt lessons from the outbreak of the virus in other countries and had already put in place emergency planning and preventive measures to tackle the outbreak.

We must not forget that the success recorded in the two APC states was only possible because both state governments had previously in their visionary manners invested in local health infrastructure, including building networks of clinics and hospitals, recruiting and training medical personnel. Nigeria is today free of Ebola and, by God’s grace, it will be free of PDP by February 14, 2015.”

 He said the PDP has resorted to divisive politics because it has nothing to show to Nigerians to return to power in 2015.

His words: “Now, the only reason the PDP has resorted to dangerous, divisive politics is because they have nothing to showcase to Nigerians to convince them to return the PDP to power at the centre come next year.

 ”In all spheres of life, Nigeria is worse off today than it was in 1999, when the PDP first assumed office.

“In the area of security and welfare of the citizenry, the main reason for the existence of any government, the scorecard of the PDP-controlled Federal Government is zero.

“ More Nigerians have died needlessly between 1999 and now than at any other time in the country’s history, minus during the unfortunate civil war of 1967 to 1970. By President Jonathan’s own admission, over 12,000 people have been killed by Boko Haram alone! Yet the government has no clue as to how to end the killings, not minding that the sponsors of terrorists called Boko Haram are known to the President and he is known to them.

“In the area of corruption, Nigeria has never had it so bad! Organised stealing of our crude oil has become a thriving business, and corruption has never been so institutionalised. Where do we start?”

The APC cautioned the Presidency against impunity and muzzling of the Judiciary.

Odigie-Oyegun said: “There is also impunity, unprecedented impunity, which has in turn fuelled unparalleled lawlessness. Now, they simply deploy security personnel to lock up the courts just to prevent justice from being served. They organise to beat up judges just to have their way. Litigants and lawyers are fair game in their misplaced strategy to pervert the course of justice. To them, the doctrine of the separation of powers is a mere fancy. They don’t give a damn. In their perverted reasoning, might is right! Their violation of this doctrine flies in the face of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This undemocratic encroachment and erosion portend great danger for our nation and constitute a threat to our democracy. But they don’t really give a damn.”

He asked PDP to stop mouthing the creation of phantom 1.7million jobs.

Odigie-Oyegun  said: “Neither do they give a damn about the future of our youths. In December 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics said 54% of Nigerian youths were unemployed in 2012.