The federal government Monday accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of misinformation capable of plunging the country into another round of the #EndSARS protests.
Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed made the accusation at a media parley in Abuja.
He queried: “How do you explain their threat of another EndSARS that pushed Nigeria to the brink? How do you explain their glaring misinformation regarding the nation’s state of affairs?”
Mohammed said: “The other side has been doing everything in recent times to overheat the polity, distort the achievements of our administration and spread misinformation. It is very cold out there for the hungry and desperate opposition.
“There is nothing wrong in having a fiery and viable opposition in a democracy. We were there before and we remain the ones to beat in terms of a determined, viable and relentless opposition.
“How else does one explain their court case seeking the declaration of our convention as illegal?
“But, in our time, not once did we advocate the destruction of Nigeria just because we couldn’t have our way. Not once did we seek to gain power via a desperate court action. If you destroy the country you are seeking to govern, what country will you govern? Must you cut your nose to spite your face?
“In the most egregious show of shamelessness and a blatant refusal to be remorseful, they even had the audacity to express righteous indignation that the damage they inflicted on the country in their 16 years of misrule has not been totally undone in just seven years.
“In other words, those who brought the country to its knees are now accusing those working hard to repair things of non-performance. They said they are ready to rescue Nigeria. Pray, where do kidnappers rescue their victims? These same guys who kidnapped the fortunes of their country are suddenly posing as rescuers. CAVEAT EMPTOR. Buyers beware! NIGERIANS BEWARE!”
The PDP Friday asked a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, to stop the planned national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over alleged non-compliance with procedure and rules guiding the exercise.
But the governing ultimately held its convention Saturday, which through consensus, produced a former Nasarawa state governor and serving lawmaker, Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the party’s national chairman.
The PDP, in a suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/389 2022, also sought a court order deregistering the APC as a political party having failed to meet the requirements of Sections 222(a), 223(b) and 225 of the Nigerian constitution.
In the suit dated March 25 and filed by its counsel, Samuel Irabor, the party listed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the APC, Registered Trustees of the APC and the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee(CECPC) as defendants.
‘It’s anthology of lies’
In its reaction, the PDP described the performance claims by Mohammed as another as another anthology of lies, false and bogus disinformation.
In a statement Monday by its national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party said the hurried press conference was another desperate and disoriented stunt by the APC administration to divert public attention from the exposed corruption records of the APC national leadership.
It also described it as “an attempt to downplay and treat with levity, the excruciating economic hardship, hunger and other life discounting experiences being faced by Nigerians daily because of severe food crisis, lingering fuel emergency, high cost of essential commodities and services, closure of schools, insecurity and mass killing, collapse of healthcare system and decayed public infrastructure under APC’s watch.”
According to the PDP, “It is the height of impunity and arrogance that the Minister of Information and Culture, could address the media to claim that the APC government has achieved food sufficiency, particularly in rice production, when in reality, there is famine in the land with the price of food items, especially rice soaring by over 400 percent under the APC with its “pyramid of lies”
Continuing, the statement read: “A bag of rice which sold for N7,500 under the PDP now sells for over N30,000, a measure of bean which sold for N350 under the PDP now sells for over N1000, a measure of garri which sold for N120 under the PDP now sells for N700, a bottle of palm oil which sold for N250 under the PDP now sells for over N1000.
“In the same vein, a kilo of meat which sold for N700 under the PDP now sells for N3000, a liter of petrol which sold for N87 under the PDP now sells for as high as N400 to N500 while a liter of diesel which sold for N110 under the PDP now sells for over N800, yet Lai Mohammed provocatively claims that Nigerians are better off under the APC.
“Nigerians know better and the question to ask is, Is your life better now in 2022 under the APC than it was in 2015 under the PDP?
“It is ludicrous and insensitive that the APC government went to the media to list non-existence roads, bridges, agricultural and health projects as achievements.
“More pathetic is the APC’s attempt to claim credit for development projects initiated and implemented by successive PDP administrations including in our railways, aviation, agricultural, healthcare, education, telecommunications, banking and manufacturing sactor among others.
