Edo Blames APC-led Federal Government for Suffering in Nigeria

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Edo State Government, Monday, blamed the misery currently ravaging the country on the All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government its bad economic policies

It said APC had plunged the country into economic hardship because of the party’s gross mismanagement of the economy at the centre in the last nine years.

The government was reacting to accusations on Sunday by the state APC acting chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, that some officials of the Edo State government had been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged fraud. Tenebe also alleged that Radisson Hotel, under construction by Governor Godwin Obaseki, had been given out to a government official.

Addressing a press conference in Benin City on Tuesday, tagged, “State of the Nation,” Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, said it was imperative to let the people know the lies peddled by APC before they fell for the party’s antics ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the state.

Nehikhare said rather than campaigning to the electorate for votes and telling them what the party will do if elected, APC was busy feeding the people with lies in order to win election.

According to him, in spite of efforts by the present Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of Godwin Obaseki to mitigate the suffering that Edo people and Nigerians had been plunged into by the APC federal government, through increase in minimum wage, free WiFi in different parts of the state, free transport scheme that had benefitted over six million Edo residents since its launch in September 2023, food palliative to millions of Edo people, free registration for pensioners into the state’s health insurance scheme, all the APC in the state could do was to sell lies to the people to win election.

Nehikhare said records abounded on how the haphazard withdrawal of fuel subsidy by the APC government on May 29, 2023 tossed the economy into chaos and pushed the people into the brink of starvation. He added that it was a known fact how the poorly thought out policy to unify the exchange rate blew the currency away, which today was impacting negatively on the economy and wellbeing of citizens.

Nehikhare said, “It has become imperative for us as representative of our people in the state government to draw the attention of the authorities and members of the public to the plight of the Edo people and, by extension, the Nigerian people.”

The commissioner added that the APC federal government had “continuously stifled business growth in the country, increasing taxes and doubling the burdens on small businesses”.

It said, “The nation is slowly descending back into terrorism with the rise of suicide bombing, among others.”

Nehikhare stated that on the back of these devastation that had been caused by the APC-led federal government, the party in Edo State seemed to be surprisingly oblivious of this terrible situation. 

He said, “Just like the ostrich, they have buried their heads in the sand and have continued to gush out lies and propaganda, hoping to hoodwink our people and dampen their desire to break free from the stranglehold by which the APC has shackled them for the past nine years.

“It is such show of shame to see them sit before pressmen waving worthless pieces of papers as evidence for non-existent fraud allegations against a state government that has enthroned transparency and accountability in the course of the administration of state’s resources.

“As a party whose foundation was built on a web of lies and deceit, no gainsaying, the same way they manufactured this worthless paper is the same way they manufactured the court papers which they used in misinforming and misleading the Edo people on the candidacy of the PDP.

“It is the same manner in which they manufactured the crisis with the palace, all in a desperate effort to hoodwink the people and reawaken their completely comatose party in Edo State.

“The governorship election in Edo State is around the corner and just the way they fooled the entire nation into bondage, they are hoping to replicate the same in Edo State, parading a hardly literate candidate, who finds it difficult expressing himself in public fora and without the verve to share his vision for the people.”

Nehikhare stated that Edo people were wiser, as they knew who were their friends and who were their oppressors, and could not submit themselves again to APC to inflict the pains and sufferings of these last few years on them the second time.

He said, “Our people are determined to break from this bondage come September 21, 2024 by sustaining the leadership of the PDP at the state level.  They know that the PDP is the best choice for the continued progress and prosperity of the state and will not allow lies and propaganda by their oppressors to cloud their judgment and stop them from making informed decisions for a better future for themselves and their unborn children.

“Come September 21, it is PDP or nothing and there is nothing the APC can do about it.”