•We are making progress, ruling party chieftain insists
By Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plunging Nigerians into poverty as a result of its unfulfilled electoral promises.
It also accused the APC of rolling out artificial projects that do not have organic contents to sustain them, hence their failure in accomplishing national projects.
The PDP was reacting to the commencement of the 774,000 jobs scheme initiative of the federal government to engage youths for three months.
PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, who spoke yesterday on The Morning Show on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said the project would also fail just like others because of unfulfilled promises.
“The APC government keeps rolling out initiatives that are not people-oriented and they keep making promises that are never fulfilled. The N-Power project of APC is already a failure because they have not paid those recruited into N-Power job for the past five months,” Ologbondiyan said.
But an APC chieftain, Mr. Tunde Imolehin, who also spoke yesterday on The Morning Show, said: “Although the APC government is pained about the difficulties Nigerians are currently facing, but we are making progress in our initiatives to rebuild the nation and we need Nigerians to have some patience to enjoy the positive development emanating from the APC-led government.”
Ologbondiyan, however, stated that the774,000 jobs scheme is not real, not organic, but artificial and would lead Nigerians to nowhere.
“We are in the second wave of COVID-19 and the Buhari government is talking of deploying 774,000 jobs when his government does not have a clue on how to address the COVID-19 challenges.
“The last six years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is all about making promises that are never fulfilled. Those that enrolled for N-Power have not been paid for the last five months and the government is deceiving Nigerians with the 774,000 jobs. We are waiting to see how serious this government is with the proposed 774,000 jobs scheme,” he said.
He said he will continue to sympathise with APC because the party has proven to be an unserious one.
“This is a party that dissolved all its structures and put in place a caretaker committee that is headed by a sitting governor, which is a clear case that the party does not have plans for itself and has gone into extinction with the dissolution of its entire party structure,” Ologbondiyan said.
Speaking on the programme of the APC-led federal government, Imolehin said: “APC is making progress in the areas of security, job creation and in fighting corruption. We have just commenced the 774,000 jobs scheme across 774 local government areas of the country and we are equipping the youths.”
When asked if equipping the youths with cutlasses and wheelbarrows does not amount to equipping them with weapons, Imolehin said wheelbarrows and cutlasses may not be the most sophisticated agricultural tools, but that government must start from somewhere because Nigeria a developing nation.
He added that the youths in rural communities need these tools for farming.
“APC is a government of change and it will, therefore, come up with initiatives that will bring positive change to the electorate. APC recently set up a committee that will look at the rebuilding process and consolidation of our party, using technology to drive all of that so that at the end of the day, the party will come out stronger. As a party, we listen to the people in order to meet their expectations,” he added.
He warned against writing off the Buhari administration due to the challenges facing the nation.
“We should look at the gradual execution of the change agenda of this government and how we are rebuilding the Nigerian economy,” he added.
According to him, the 774,000 jobs scheme initiative of APC will empower the people and it should be applauded by Nigerians that APC has commenced the 774,000 jobs initiative.
Asked why the Nigerian economy is in recession for the second time in Buhari’s government, with the increased inflation rate, Imolehin said he would not be able to give satisfactory answers because he is neither an economist nor the minister of finance. He, however, said although he is not happy with the current situation that Nigerians find themselves, the APC government is working to address all the challenges and to pull out Nigerians from poverty.
