APC Promises Are Full Of Deceit, Says PDP

Source: thewillnigeria.com

BEVERLY HILLS, February 25, (THEWILL) – The leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the manifesto of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) as a pack of lies, saying the party was promising Nigerians what it cannot deliver.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, stated this Wednesday at a media briefing in Abuja, describing the opposition APC as a party of liars.

Speaking at the briefing, Metuh said : “You will recall that over time, we have never wavered on our emphasis on issue-driven campaign based on the truth and verifiable facts. This position has guided our campaigns at different levels as we meet the electorate to showcase our manifesto, numerous achievements and roadmap for a more prosperous future.”

He however lamented that the same cannot be said of the opposition, saying most Nigerians would have noted a worrisome trend in the camp of the opposition, which , according to him, is not only inimical to the stability of the country but also to the growth and sustenance of its democracy.

According to him, “Since its formation about two years ago, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has introduced and sustained an unfortunate political streak sustained majorly by lies, character assassination, false alarm, wild allegations, and lately visual simulation all in the desperation to deceive and misdirect the judgment of the electorate.

“We have with us an opposition party, which has been deploying all manner of schemes to derail and compromise the electoral process. Today, if the APC is not instigating violence or threatening democracy and our very existence as a nation, the party is busy procuring criminal hi-tech to hack into INEC's database or clone the Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

“The next day, the same party would connive with some unscrupulous electoral officers to deny non-indigenes in some select states their PVCs while busy making bogus promises to the electorate.

“We have therefore called you here to list some of these fabrications and empty promises of the APC in the last four months and through you convey them to the Nigerian electorate and the international community so that they will not be deceived.”

Metuh said: “For instance, the APC in one of its phantom promises said that it would pay a stipend of N5, 000 each to 25 million poor Nigerians monthly. This gives a total of N125 billion each month and N1.5 trillion every year.

“What is baffling is that the APC knows full well that this is not only unrealistic but also impracticable in a nation with an estimated budget of N4.69 trillion comprising recurrent and capital expenditures yet they continue to dish it out to unsuspecting citizens in a clear bid to mislead.

“Also, the deceitful tendency of the APC came to light in its promise to create 740, 000 direct jobs in each of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT within one year while on the other hand promising to create

1 million jobs for Igbo youths also within the same period. We ask, which do we believe?”

Speaking further, he said: “The APC has also promised to provide free education, daily free meals for millions of Nigerian school children, free tertiary education, free health care and free houses to Nigerians. The opposition knows too well that this is unrealistic yet they prefer to brandish falsehood.

“The APC should explain to Nigerians how they would fulfill their promises with the prevailing 40 percent drop in national income and dwindling oil price in the international market. These promises are therefore either bogus or part of their plot to subject the citizens to a harsh tax regime ostensibly to finance Bourdillon Drive and other personal interests, the real reason they desperately seek power.”

The PDP spokesman therefore challenged the APC to come forward and admit before Nigerians that these promises are false and merely deceitful, saying “ if not, they should be bold enough to tell Nigerians that they are planning to skyrocket our personal income and company taxes if they ever get to

power.”
He disclosed that “Under the PDP led administration, company tax is a maximum of 30 percent of the profit whereas personal income tax hovers from 1 percent for minimum wage earners to a maximum of 19 percent for Nigerians earning up to N100

million.”
He therefore asked:”Can Nigerians afford a tax regime of 45 percent company tax and 32 percent personal income tax?”, saying “ Whilst we note the multiple tax regime in APC states like Lagos state, we believe that Nigerians are not ready to bear the brunt of APC's harsh tax policy.”

He however said “If on the other hand, APC decides to deny the planned imposition of a harsh tax regime, then they must accept they are guilty of fake campaign promises and deceitful manifesto.”

He stated further: “Indeed, the APC has constituted itself into a huge embarrassment to our dear nation. It has remained a camp of dishonest lot whose statements cannot be trusted having continually displayed its lack of integrity and proclivity for falsehood. A party of one week, one lie.

“Nigerians are still shocked at the discovery of the latest international fraud where the APC rehashed an old interview by its Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari , as a fresh one, all in a bid to

cover up a mismanaged international trip.
“This is coming on the heels of another shocking discovery that the APC's claim that its Presidential candidate visited Chibok turned out to be a hoax meant to deceive Nigerians, as he never did.

“You may well recall that in June, 2014 the APC in its usual proclivity for lies issued a statement alleging that a plane carrying Kano state Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso purportedly to attend its rally in Ekiti was denied landing permission in Akure, only for Kwankwaso's Director of Press Affairs, Baba Dantiye, to announce that the governor was at another event in Kano and had no plans to travel to Ekiti state.

“Nigerians have not forgotten series of false alarms by the APC, the latest being the allegations of government siege and claims of threats to lives of its leaders which turned out to be totally false and only cooked up by its propaganda machinery to heat up the polity.

“Also, the APC had in early 2014 raised an alarm that federal lawmakers were being induced with millions of dollars to defect to the PDP, only for Nigerians to find out that it was false,

“You may also recall the reprehensible attempt by the APC to deceive Nigerians when it accused the Federal Government of deploying operatives of the SSS to terrorise voters in Osun state when in actual fact, the APC governor of Osun state also officially requested for their deployment ahead of the August 9, 2014 governorship election.

“Indeed that the APC is working to undermine the sanctity of the electoral process is well known to all. When we first alerted the nation that APC was conniving with some compromised staff of INEC to deny non-indigenes in select states their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), the opposition reacted ferociously accusing us of false alarm while insulting our party leaders. However, we were vindicated when INEC on their own, not only confirmed the crime in Lagos but also sacked the officials involved.

“In the same vein, when we raised an alarm last year that the APC had procured technologies to compromise the electoral process by hacking into INEC's data base and cloning Permanent Voters Cards (PVC), the APC also reacted vehemently and some interests accused us of crying wolf only for us to be vindicated by shocking findings by the State Security Services which exposed the culpability of APC.

“Nigerians now know why the APC has been boasting that it will emerge victorious in the elections with threats of violence if it loses. We hereby restate our call for the prosecution of all individuals arrested over the matter.”

Asking whether the destiny of the country be entrusted to a party, which he said, that has shown an unrepentant proclivity for deceit and outright lies, he wondered if the nation afford to have a government run by “a party of liars.”

He said: “Indeed, it is important that we draw the attention of Nigerians and the international community to these developments to enable them note the emptiness in the basket of promises being brandished by the APC so as to be guided wisely as they make the very important decisions on March 28

and April 11, 2015.
“It is indeed obvious that the APC has no intentions of pursuing, let alone fulfilling any of their bogus promises. It is either they are merely taking the nation for a ride or seek to use the promises as a pedestal to impose a cruel tax regime and exploit Nigerians. Any way way, it is a campaign based on deceit.

“Finally, we ask Nigerian to choose who to follow; the APC, a party that has shown it is guilty of fake promises and lies or the PDP, a party that has based its campaigns on the truth and integrity. We are sure Nigerians have chosen to follow the PDP, the party that is willing to accept its shortcomings and ready to incorporate well-meaning opinions, suggestions and advise.”