The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has lambasted the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for demanding the resignation of President Bola Tinubu.
Recall that the PDP earlier urged the president to withdraw if he could not fix the economic hardship in the country.
APC, in a statement on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said governors elected under the PDP were idle but viciously complicit spectators.
“Basking in willful blindness to their constitutional responsibilities, governors elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a statement, yesterday, advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to “throw in the towel” if he can’t govern Nigeria anymore.
“This noxious executive flippancy has now become a badge of identity for these idle but viciously complicit spectators in the affairs of their states and citizens,” the APC said.
The ruling party added that a federal system operates on the idea of shared, constitutionally delineated responsibilities among the three tiers of government – federal, state and local governments.
It noted that effective governance requires collaboration and coordination among all three levels to deliver the promise of democracy to all citizens.
“By virtue of their membership of the National Economic Council and National Council of State, governors bear a solemn duty, where possible, to proffer constructive ideas or solutions to the challenges of governance of our nation.
“Like all citizens, governors are entitled to free speech. However, that right must be exercised against a standard of respectability and reasonableness. Reckless utterances capable of inflaming passions and social upheaval must be avoided.
“Likening Nigeria to Venezuela as the PDP governors did in a recent communique, even under the prevailing challenging economic and security contexts of Nigeria, is unhelpful and smacks of unrighteous indignation,” the governing party said.
Rather than live up to their responsibilities as chief executive officers of Nigeria’s federating units, the APC said that the PDP governors have “turned themselves into a band of doomsday vocalists, raising their voices to deafening decibels intended to drown the groans of their citizens battered by their critical inertia, ineptitude and dismal performance as governors of their states.”
It further stressed that as the federal buck “ultimately stops” at the President’s table, so the state buck “ultimately stops” at the governors’ table.
“The PDP governors’ call to the President to throw in the towel is nothing short of self-indictment. It is cringeworthy that the same governors that have never justified the massive federal allocations to their states, that have perennially stifled and dispossessed local government administrations of federally allocated funds are talking about “buck”.
“How can a governor of a state in utter shambles like Delta participate, barefaced, in a talk about “buck”? Has the PDP governor of Delta state even attempted to justify the over 483.57 Billion Naira federal allocation to the state in 2023?
“Which part or sector of Delta state bears witness to the use of that huge allocation? Delta state retirees have remained desperately pulverized by PDP’s uninterrupted reckless rule since the advent of this Republic in 1999,” the statement read.
The APC continued, that since the buck also stops at the PDP governors’ table at the state level, they should practice what they preach by resigning from their offices rather than blaming the federal administration for their utter failure to mobilize massive resources at their disposal to improving the living conditions of their people.
Morka noted that Tinubu is taking responsibility and providing solid leadership in what he described as this historic season of deep and enduring economic transformation in the country.
“The administration has initiated bold and far-reaching reforms that are indispensable to economic recovery, sustainable growth and prosperity.
“Our people are going through transient but painful difficulties that the administration is supremely determined to mitigate as these policies begin to yield desired results.
“Nigerians deserve to live in peace and security, with access to basic social and economic amenities,” the ruling party added.
Morka said the party and administration urge patience during these turbulent times “as our nation soars unstoppably to firmer grounds and more prosperous future.”