The All Progressives Congress (APC) has assured that President Bola Tinubu is committed to ensuring an inclusive, honest, transparent and accountable governance system.
Mr Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, gave the assurance in a statement issued in Abuja while reacting to comments credited to Mr Phrank Shaibu, the Media Aide to Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate.
Morka encouraged Nigerains to actively participate in democratic processes, ventilate their views and contribute constructively to national conversations.
“As the discerning people that we are, we remain confident that Nigerians will continue to differentiate between genuine, constructive and development-oriented criticisms.
“And those driven by self-interest, mercenary considerations and disruptive political agenda,” Morka said.
He urged Nigerians to ignore purveyors of fake news and other inanities.
He said it was obvious that Shaibu and his likes would stop at nothing in their desperation to distort facts and give oxygen to their politically knocked out principal.
“But that can only worsen his infamy in the light of the president’s determined commitment and strides to improving the social and economic conditions for all Nigerians.
“The PDP and all its agents of misinformation should know by now that no amount of sleazy propaganda , muckraking, lies, half-truths, misrepresentations, misinformation or disinformation will confer the presidency of Nigeria on their candidate.
“Nigerians have freely chosen our party, the APC, and President Tinubu, to continue to steer the ship of state, and he is making good his campaign promises to deliver purposeful leadership,” Morka stressed.
He said Shaibu outed himself in his warped and misleading suggestion that the APC Tinubu-led administration was hood-winking Nigerians by propaganda.
He recalled that Shaibu had alleged that the administration was only interested in telling lies rather than rescuing citizens from bad governance.
“In his pathological and cynical flippancy, Atiku’s aide delved into matters he clearly does not understand or lacks the constitutive capacity to understand,” Morka said.
He noted that Shaibu’s only evidence for such a conclusion was that Tinubu appointed more media aides than economic and security advisers.
According to the APC spokesman, Atiku’s aide certainly does not understand the issues and the interplay of statecraft and economic management initiatives by Tinubu.
“That Shaibu described as lies the Tinubu’s administration courageous decisions to remove fuel subsidy, harmonise the foreign exchange regimes.
“And sign into law the Students’ Loan Act, only buttresses his poor understanding of economic development and governance.
“That the fine details of these visionary and people-centred policies are still being worked out and have yet to run their due course cannot and do not negate their valid objectives and potential transformative impact.
“The president has dutifully appointed experienced and highly skilled professionals to key institutions of the economy,” Morka said.
This, he added, included the Ministry Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and created the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in a patriotic zeal to reposition and grow the economy,” Morka said.
The APC spokesman further said that Shaibu’s claim that fuel subsidy was back was not correct.
He explained that government’s intervention to ensure some measure of price stability and predictability does not amount to return of the ruinous fuel subsidy of recent past.
He noted that lifting Visa ban on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should ordinarily make any well meaning Nigerian happy.
He said diplomatic rapprochement between Nigeria and UAE authorities was ongoing and details of outcomes would soon be made public.
“Nigeria is facing pressing challenges that require focused efforts and undivided attention. Issues such as economic recovery, security of lives and property,
“Infrastructure development, and social welfare demand continuous, sustained and innovative efforts,” Morka said.
