‘Celebration of falsehood’ — PDP tackles Buhari over 2021 achievements

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the achievements of the Buhari administration in 2021 as “a litany of lies”.

While addressing a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said despite the challenges in 2021, the Buhari administration made “tremendous” progress in fighting insecurity and growing the economy.

Mohammed highlighted “major achievements” which he said the Buhari administration recorded in 2021.

But reacting in a statement on Thursday, the opposition party described the achievements as a “celebration of falsehood by a failed administration”.

The PDP alleged the APC-led administration has mismanaged Nigeria’s economy and failed in its primary duty of protecting the lives and property of citizens.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dismisses the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government’s performance claims as reeled out by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed today as a litany of lies and another celebration of falsehood by a failed administration,” Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said in a statement.

“The Performance claim by the APC government can only be a product of delusions of grandeur; a joke of the year, as the word on the street where the real Nigerians are, is completely at variance with the fabricated lies and imaginary performance indices contained in the report.

“Is it not unpardonable that instead of facing its failures to secure our nation, the APC-led government which is still harbouring a self-confessed terrorism apologist, is celebrating the mass killings currently going on in our country by engaging in self-praise in the face of failure while terrorists continue to ravage our nation?

“On the economy, the APC government had become so addicted to the falsehood that it had forgotten that Nigerians are aware that the PDP government handed over a $550 billion economy (largest in Africa and 26th globally) and a diversified economy to the APC in 2015. Today, our nation has become the poverty capital of the world due to the mismanagement, corruption and recklessness of the APC government.

“In 2015, Nigeria’s external debt was $7.3 billion. Today under the clueless APC government, in just over six years, the external debt has reached over $38 billion and counting, with no corresponding investment in the economy or infrastructure.

“Today, the poverty rate in Nigeria is 71 percent as against 32 percent when the APC government took over in 2015. Between January and September 2021, over $1.8 billion dollar was expended on debt services, yet the APC government can shamelessly claim to have performed in 2021.

“It is self-evident that only the APC gangsters can claim to have performed in the face of life discounting experiences of the ordinary Nigerians. Thankfully Nigerians now know them for who they are.

“Furthermore, it is ludicrous that the APC government claimed to be fighting corruption when it has become the haven of compromised and corrupt politicians. Evidently, that is why it has no answer to reports of how APC leaders and their cronies stole over N25 trillion from various government agencies. It also explains why the APC government has failed to prosecute its officials and APC leaders openly indicted for corruption.”

The opposition party said the infrastructural projects listed by the APC-led government “exists only on paper as achievements and even attempted to appropriate projects by PDP administrations. The PDP challenges the APC government to name one landmark project it conceptualized, commenced and completed in the last six years”.

The PDP said the APC is “oblivious of the pains and tears that their almost seven years of proven disappointment have inflicted on Nigerians,” adding that it will be voted out of office in 2023.