Hardship: APC Begs PDP, Says Don’t Incite Nigerians Against Tinubu-Led Government
Nigerian governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) have asked their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart not to make utterances and take actions capable of inciting Nigerians against the President Bola Tinubu/APC-led government.
The governors under Progressives Governors’ Forum in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by their Chairman and Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said that the economic and security challenges Nigerians were facing needed a collaborative approach towards finding lasting solutions to them, and not pointing accusing fingers.
The APC governors who were reacting to the press briefing by PDP Governors on Monday where they likened Nigeria to another Venezuela, said that it was unpatriotic of the opposition party for those in leadership positions to play what they described as the ostrich when they were fully aware of what President Tinubu was doing to reverse the ugly situation.
Governor Uzodinma said that while the PDP had catalogued what they perceived to be the economic problem of the country, they could not proffer a single solution to it.
He said that the statement by the PDP Governors that “ultimately, the decision rests squarely with Nigerians and other organs in the country to ensure that we take actions that will bring relief to all of us” amounted to what he described as veiled incitement of the public against the Nigerian government, particularly coming on the heels of a 14-day notice of strike by the organised Labour.
Uzodinma said, “As leaders, mere criticisms or even playing to the gallery for public applause is not the way to go. Engaging in blame games is also not the way to go. All of us are members of the National Economic Council, where we have the opportunity to make our input. I don’t think my colleagues have exhausted that avenue.”
He noted that he was happy that the PDP as a party supported the removal of fuel subsidy, which was at the heart of the economic challenges in the country.
He said, “I don’t know when they stopped supporting that economic policy, but they are familiar with the cliche that you cannot make an omelette without breaking an egg. We were all aware of the temporary hardship the policy would cause, but that will soon give way to prosperity.”
According to him, he was aware that President Tinubu was working assiduously to ensure that the economy is brought back to shape for Nigerians to rejoice again.
He called on the PDP, especially the governors, to encourage Nigerians to be patient instead of denigrating the image of the country before the international community, adding that it would amount to a great disservice to the country for leaders to tend to incite the citizens against the government.
