Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State says the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party at the federal level has reduced Nigeria to a laughing stock in the comity of nations with its ineptitude to provide basic amenities and fight insurgency.
Speaking at two mega rallies of the All Progressives Congress held at Auchi in Edo North and Irrua in Edo Central, Friday, the Governor said when the PDP took the reins of governance in 1999, the country had 774 Local Government areas, but as we speak, close to thirty of those local government areas are being controlled by insurgents.
According to him, it is time to ask yourselves; in 16 years of PDP leadership, what has PDP government produced? For 16 years, they gave us darkness. No light, yet they keep bringing bills. They produced unemployment; our companies have all closed down. If the Federal Government does not have good industrial policy, unemployment will continue to be here. So PDP brought unemployment. PDP government brought kidnapping to our country. There was no single case of kidnapping before 1999, PDP brought kidnapping.
“The most worrisome of them all is that in 1999, PDP Government was handed 774 Local Government Areas and as we speak now, Boko Haram controls about 30 Local Government Areas and if they continue to rule, they will get here. We have the best soldiers in the world, they go to other countries for peace keeping. How come they now say our soldiers are now running from common insurgents? For 16 years, they have not equipped our military.
While urging the people to vote en masse for the APC, Oshiomhole said: “I can give you 100 reasons why we must vote Buhari. It is for our own survival. It goes beyond tribal sentiments. PDP has failed Nigeria. They have reduced Nigeria to a joke. They have shared our companies to themselves. They extorted our unemployed graduates all in the name of scam recruitment exercise. You cannot continue to vote for a party that has lost every sense of responsibility and reduced our country to a huge joke even within the African Continent.
“This coming election will be a decisive one. We have a Presidential Candidate that has courage; a Presidential candidate that will fight corruption and you will be counting the casualties. He will not be like those who say they are fighting corruption and nobody is falling.
“General Buhari was a Military Governor and later served as Minister of Petroleum before becoming the Military Head of State and despite having held all these positions, he never amassed public funds to himself to become rich. He is the kind of man Nigerians needs. A man that will fight corruption, instill discipline and ensure that the poor are not cheated.”
He said, “Buhari built Kaduna and Warri refineries. How can they say all our refineries are good and yet we are importing products and because we are importing, that is why petrol and kerosene price have refused to reduce. If our refineries are not working, where will those our children studying Electrical, Petroleum, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering work after graduation? If PDP could not do refinery in 16 years, do you want to give them another chance to fail? That is why Nigeria needs General Buhari.”
The Governor who presented the candidates of the APC vying for various elective positions in the state said, “we need the very best and come day, come night, I can vouch that with them, the development of this area will be sustained.
“These are tested men. With these men, we will bring more development to Edo State. They have experience and with the little opportunity they have had to serve, they reproduced eye-mark projects that can be seen by all. I can assure you that with these candidates, we are in very safe hands.”
Taking a swipe at politicians who defect from one political party to the other when they can’t get nominations, said politics should not be about the individual alone and urged the people to not be deceived into experimenting with such inconsistent characters but rather with the party that has been tested and has brought so much development to Edo State.
