The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai stated the All Progressives Congress (APC) inherited a Nigeria at the tip of failure, alleging that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ran the nation’s economy aground
He stated this in Kaduna Friday at the commencement of a three-day retreat for State House a News Media correspondent, organised by the Presidency and being hosted by the Kaduna State Government.
El-rufai, in his address titled “The Choices Before the State House Press Corps in Enabling Change”, stated some of the shady deals under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan are stranger than fiction.
As stated by the governor, the consequences of the incompetence, the “thievery” and the divisive ethos that reigned under Jonathan are only becoming clear by the day.
His words: “The responsibility that has been thrust in the hands of the new government is immense. The APC inherited a country at the tip of failure. As is becoming clearer by the day, some of the things that went on under the previous government are stranger than fiction. The consequences of the incompetence, the thievery and the divisive ethos that reigned are only becoming clear. Nigerians are only beginning to realise that the Jonathan government, despite years of $100 oil, was borrowing to pay salaries. The PDP simply ran this economy aground”.
El-rufai assured that the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari would do their level best to pick up the pieces, restore economic vitality and make life better for Nigerians.
The governor, however, stressed that such spirit of determination and commitment to positive change had to be actively shared by a critical mass of Nigerians.
“Can change abide, if after throwing out the PDP, we retain its ways and habits? Can change deliver if those who voted for it construes it as granting them immunity from tough decisions? Can change succeed if it is understood and practised as that strain of populism that reduces governance to pandering to vested interests?”, he asked.
The governor, who observed that the retreat was holding at the end of a year of special significance for Nigeria, said: “After 16 years of imperial rule, the PDP was uprooted from the centre”.
He added: “For the first time in our history, a sitting president and his party were roundly rejected. Although our people had thrown out a few incumbent governors in previous elections, it was assumed that such was impossible at the federal level. Nigerians have combusted that myth. The power of the voter has been emphatically reasserted”.
El-rufai, who noted that tough decisions are on the horizon, also asked: “Will the media afford a platform for a fair discussion of the tough choices that are looming? As the quest for accountability continues, will the narrative seek to uphold the public interest, or will it side with the formidable artillery corruption can deploy in its attempt to fight back”.
As stated by him, the choice before the media is whether it will help corruption fight back, enabling the corrupt to protect their ill-acquired privileges or help the Buhari administration foster accountability and further the public interest.
“It is a stark choice between instant gratification of getting a piece of the corruption or sacrificing that for a better today and a more secure, fairer and prosperous tomorrow for our children”, he also stated.
El-rufai emphasised that with the retreat, its theme and contents as well as the honour done to Kaduna and its government, “I am encouraged to convey Mr President that the State House Press Corps has chosen to support his total war against corruption, graft and the destruction of our children’s future”.