The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said that under President Bola Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had implemented “needless vicious policies” that had subjected Nigerians to immense suffering and poverty.
Senator David Mark, the former Senate President and National Chairman of the ADC, made the announcement Monday in Abuja.
Mark lamented the persistent disruption of citizens’ social and economic lives caused by insecurity, even as the APC government continued to increase tax burdens.
At the ADC headquarters in Abuja, Mark gave a speech during the establishment of a 50-member Policy and Manifesto Committee.
Former APC National Chairman and former Edo State Governor Chief John Odigie-Oyegun served as the chairman of the committee, which was made up of a number of distinguished Nigerians.
According to the former president of the Senate, “Nigerians are suffering now, maybe more than at any other point in our history.” We are confronted by poverty.
“Yes, poverty and hardship have always existed, but under the APC administration, they have gotten worse for Nigerians.”
“The government’s needlessly cruel policies have created and exacerbated this situation. Therefore, Nigerians are in dire need of alternative ideas, policies, and actions that they can trust.
They seek policies that will enhance their lives now and provide a strong basis for future improvements. Compassionate policies are what they desire.
“Nigerians do not seek out persuasive arguments. People want policies and behaviors that demonstrate that the government is aware of their situation and is ready to act with compassion, clarity, and courage.
“A party that prioritizes the people is what the African Democratic Congress stands for.”
No matter how attractive its plans were on paper, the national chairman of the ADC made it apparent that a nation that cannot secure its citizens will not be able to expand its economy.
Nigeria, he emphasized, “needs honest thinking and workable solutions, not rhetoric.” Families are working harder and making less money all around the nation. Food costs increase more quickly than incomes, wages, and salaries can keep up.
The power supply is still inoperable despite the skyrocketing tariffs. The APC government, oddly enough, keeps making the tax obligations of its citizens worse. People’s social and economic lives are still being disrupted by insecurity.
Mark emphasized that Nigerians already understood who was to blame for their misery, therefore they weren’t searching for someone to blame.
“They (Nigerians) are looking for who will ease the pains,” he claims. Instead of policies that need people to keep giving, they want genuine, workable solutions that tackle today’s problems.
Over the years, I’ve noticed—and I’m sure most of you can agree—that Nigeria doesn’t lack ideas. We suffer because we are unable to relate concepts to reality. In this nation, policy has far too frequently been an academic endeavor disconnected from the very people it is intended to assist.
“Nothing changes in the lives of the people, which is what matters most, despite the production of documents, committees, reports, and white papers.”
“Policy is not about sounding intelligent,” said Marked. Volume and complexity don’t matter. The temptation to address symptoms while neglecting causes must be resisted.
You have to be creative in your thinking. You need to raise tough questions about why this country isn’t functioning. The load in front of you is this.
“The administration has been regaling us with figures regarding GDP performance, economic growth, and higher revenue in recent years. When these numbers do not have a beneficial impact on people’s lives, they are meaningless.
“A developing economy is inherently defective if it leaves the people behind in poverty. Economic development must be gauged by how it affects people’s lives rather than just by numbers.
Odigie-Oyegun responded on behalf of the committee, promising party members that his group would create ideas that would enable the party to produce a manifesto that would satisfy all.
“We are going to do our very best to ensure that the path that you have now clearly enunciated will become the mantra of this party through your leadership and the message you have so eloquently passed on to us today,” he declared.
That will finally let everyone in the country know that they are indeed keeping an eye on us. Do they mean it? Will they differ from the others, some of whom have identical faces?
“However, I believe that the manifesto, which we hope the party will eventually adopt in a language that the average person can comprehend and see how he fits into it, will change the dynamics of politics in this country.”
