The All Progressives Congress has assured Nigerians that this will be their last Christmas celebration under the bondage of insecurity, corruption, unemployment, widespread hopelessness foisted on them by poor leadership.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The party said hope was in the horizon for the millions of Nigerians who had been unable to celebrate this year due to the prevailing gloomy atmosphere across the land.
APC said, “Many could not travel home due to the fear of kidnapping, ethno-religious crisis and insurgency, depending on which part of the country they are from.
“Many could not celebrate due to the effects of the economic downturn, as manifested in the weakening Naira and falling oil prices, both exacerbated by widespread corruption.
“Many will mark the holidays in darkness as the country’s public power supply seemed to have fallen in a direct proportion to the huge funds ostensibly pumped into the sector in the past few years. Many would be stuck on the roads that have become clogged due to their poor state.
“While there is no magic wand to solve the myriad of problems facing our country in one fell swoop, an APC government will begin to positively impact on the citizenry within its first few months at the helm, to such an extent that Nigerians will have a better Christmas celebration in 2015.”
The party said Nigerians held the power to bringing about the much-needed change, hence they should vote wisely during the February 2015 general elections so they could install a government that would address, squarely, the challenges facing the country.
According to Mohammed, the APC had through its manifesto, entered into an honest social contract with Nigerians. He, however, said the party was aware that it could not do it alone; hence the need to have the consent and participation of the people.
He explained that the APC’s eight pledges for a better Nigeria, highlighted in the manifesto, formed the core of the party’s social contract with Nigerians.
The party pledged that in its first year in office, it would create 3million new jobs annually through a public work programmes.
It said it would shift the economy towards value-added production which would be the party’s primary economic target; it would strengthen security by employing at least 100,000 police officers and establishing a properly-trained and equipped Federal Anti-Terrorism Multi- Agency Task Force.
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