•Obaseki
The Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare has said the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state is insensitive to the plight of the people occasioned by the gross mismanagement of the economy by its government at the centre in the last nine years but has focused on spreading lies and propaganda to hoodwink the people of the state.
Nehikhare who spoke during a press conference in Benin City, the Edo State capital, said that despite the devastation caused by the APC Government, the party and its members in the state have buried their heads in the sand and continued to gush out lies and propaganda to dampen the people’s desire to break free from the stranglehold by which the APC has shackled them for the past nine years.
He noted that it was such a show of shame to see the party sitting before pressmen waving worthless pieces of paper as evidence for non-existent fraud allegations against a state government that has enthroned transparency and accountability in the cause of the administration of the state’s resources.
The commissioner stated, “It has become imperative for us as representatives of our people in the state government to draw the attention of the authorities and the members of the public to the plight of the Edo people and by extension the Nigerian people.
“Despite our best efforts to mitigate the suffering that Edo people and Nigerians have been plunged into by the APC government through the increase in minimum wage, free WiFi in different parts of the state, free transport scheme that have benefited over six million Edo residents since its launch in September 2023, food palliative to millions of Edo people, free registration for pensioners into the state’s health Insurance Scheme, among others, we want to restate that the people are still going through untold hardship and this is as a result of the gross mismanagement of the economy by the APC as a government at the centre in the last nine years.
“It is on record how the haphazard withdrawal of subsidy by the APC Government on May 29, 2023, tossed the economy into chaos and pushed our people to the brink of starvation.
“Also, it is well noted by Nigerians how the poorly thought-through policy to unify the exchange blew our currency out of the waters, making it almost worthless, negatively impacting inflation and the general economic landscape.
“As if that is not enough, they have continuously stifled business growth in the country, increasing taxes and doubling the burdens on small businesses. The nation is slowly descending back into terrorism with the rise of suicide bombings, among others.”
Nehikhare continued: “On the back of these devastation that have been caused by the APC Government, the Party in Edo State seems to be surprisingly oblivious of this terrible situation. Just like the ostrich, they have buried their heads in the sand and have continued to gush out lies and propaganda hoping to hoodwink our people and dampen their desire to break free from the stranglehold by which the APC has shackled them for the past nine years.
“It is such a show of shame to see them sit before pressmen waving worthless pieces of paper as evidence for non-existent fraud allegations against a State Government that has enthroned transparency and accountability in the cause of the administration of the State’s resources.”
“As a party whose foundation was built on a web of lies and deceit, there is no gainsaying, the same way they manufactured this worthless paper is the same way they manufactured the court papers that they used in misinforming and misleading the Edo people on the candidacy of the PDP candidate; it is the same manner in which they manufactured the crisis with the palace, all in a desperate effort to hoodwink the people and reawaken their completely comatose party in Edo State.”
