The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Nigerians are assured of better days under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
It said the reality on ground has shown that the nation was rebounding in significant measure across all sectors.
The party stated this Thursday as a counter to the position by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) that Nigerians were not faring better under the APC-led government.
They cautioned the LP standard bearer and advised him to support the administration rather than seeking cheap popularity via political blackmail.
…Obi’s position
In his New Year message, Obi, who lost out in the last presidential election, said: “The political, economic and security situation of our country is worsening daily, despite contrary positions and claims by the government of improvement in different spheres of human endeavour.
“Our national challenges are visibly worsening. Our nation and its fortunes are in clear reverse. The indices are clearly indicative of our decline, thus::Our national indices tell a disconcerting story.
“Nigeria remains one of the poverty capitals of the world, with over 100 million people living in extreme poverty and more than 150 million in multidimensional poverty. The situation has deteriorated significantly over the past 18 months under the current administration. As a nation, we have fallen from being the largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $574 billion and a per capita income of over $3,500 in 2014, to now ranking fourth on the continent. Our current GDP is less than 50% of what it was a decade ago, standing at approximately $200 billion, with a per capita income of barely $1,000.”
He further claimed that “Nigeria remains one of the most insecure and least peaceful nations in the world, with countless communities and families displaced from their homes and now living in IDP camps. According to the Global Peace Index (GPI), Nigeria ranks 143rd out of 163 countries in terms of peacefulness – an indication of a high level of distress.
“Food insecurity has become our new national norm, making Nigeria one of the hungriest countries in the world. Gainfully employed and middle-income Nigerians now spend nearly their entire incomes on feeding, with some even resorting to borrowing just to eat. For those living on the margins – low-income earners and the unemployed – the situation is even more dire. The newly approved minimum wage of N70, 000 cannot afford a bag of rice or even half a bag of beans. As a result, many Nigerians go to bed hungry, while a significant number now rely on palliatives and charitable support. Tragically, this has recently led to several avoidable deaths. Nigeria’s ranking on the 2024 Global Hunger Index is 110th out of 127 countries, reflecting a critical level of hunger and food insecurity in the nation.
“We have earned the dubious distinction of being one of the countries with the largest number of people without access to electricity. In 2024, despite abysmal and unacceptable power generation and distribution, the frequency of National Grid collapse increased significantly, with the Grid failing 12 times in 12 months. As a result, we are now mockingly referred to as the “generator country.” This persistent lack of adequate energy supply continues to hinder our national development.
“Corruption, official malfeasance, fiscal profligacy, and the mismanagement of public resources continue to rise astronomically in our country, spreading across all spheres of government. Similarly, nepotism and the disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law, and due process have become the norm.
“Our national debt has risen astronomically, from approximately N15 trillion in 2015 to N100 trillion today. This sharp increase has occurred within the past 18 months under the current administration. Ironically, these borrowings are largely allocated to non-regenerative programmes and projects, leaving little to no tangible developmental assets to show for the debt.”
…APC counters
Countering the position, however, the ruling party said Obi’s claim, at a time when “all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria’s leading doomsayer.”
In a statement by the party’s spokesman, Felix Morka, APC said Obi’s New Year message was misleading and appears intended to score cheap political points.
Morka said: “This claim, at a time when all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria’s leading doomsayer.
“In reality, 18 months later, the economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, has showed steady record of progress – massive balance of trade surpluses; trillions in stock market wealth creation; a surge in foreign direct investments as a result of increased confidence in the economy; enhanced foreign reserve; significant decline in debt servicing ratio from 90 percent to about 64 percent; higher incomes for farmers; massive increase in federal allocation to states and local governments; deliberate and patriotic efforts to plug leakages and shore up the nation’s revenue base; restart of moribund Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries; remarkable improvement in oil production and export of petroleum products; the decimation of terrorist leaders and improvement in the security situation, and numerous other measures to meet the $1trillion economy target of this administration.
“Despite these and other initial beneficial outcomes of ongoing unprecedented reforms, the administration is doubling its effort to ensuring that the reforms deliver their fullest benefits for the sustainable growth and transformation of our country.
“In his New Year message, President Bola Tinubu acknowledged that the “cost of food and essential drugs remained a significant concern for many Nigerian households.” To reverse this trend, Mr. President assured that his administration was committed to lowering food prices by boosting food production and promoting local production of drugs.”
“Mindful of the threat that the current inflation rate poses to our economy, President Tinubu had also vowed to crash it from 34 percent to 15 per cent in course of this fiscal year.
“With the vigour in the administration’s war on corruption, evidenced by ongoing investigations and trial of well-heeled Nigerians, Obi’s pontification on the urgent need to tame corruption is a clear case of carrying coal to Newcastle.
“It is a thing of irony that Peter Obi, who now arrogates to himself to be omniscient and philosopher’s stone, when it comes to our nation’s challenges, left no record of significant achievement, let alone transformation of any kind, in his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State.
“Like his co-travellers in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obi’s obsessive pessimism and endless but futile effort to incite public outrage against the administration is borne out of their realization that President Tinubu is unwittingly cementing their ultimate political irrelevance by his visionary and full-throttle reform and transformation of the fundamental pillars of our national life,” the statement further added.
The APC said under the banner of the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Tinubu was dutifully turning the nation’s fortunes around.
“He deserves the support and patience of Nigerians in order to consolidate on the deep economic foundation he has laid, and deliver a vibrant, prosperous new Nigeria for the good of all. We urge Nigerians to remain confident of better days ahead,” it further assured.