SHEKARAU BLASTS FG

Governor of Kano State and presidential aspirant of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has accused the Federal Government of ineptitude, saying it has failed to institutionalise reforms capable of moving the nation to the desired level of development.

He said that although the government has identified the problems facing the nation and their probable solutions, its functionaries are not willing to act because they are the beneficiaries of the status quo.

Shekarau, in his speech as a guest lecturer to the African Society of International Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government lacked focus, as it launched the 'NEEDS,' which was later discarded in favour of a seven- point agenda.

'These inconsistencies clearly demonstrate that PDP is more or less concerned with sloganeering and perpetuating itself in power rather than initiating sound programme that will forge the country ahead.'

The governor lamented that since coming to power in 2003, the PDP-led Federal Government has failed to provide the infrastructure that has been the bane of the country's progress, like electricity, roads, water and housing. He explained that for a government that has failed to generate 1000MW of electricity in 10 years, it may be impossible to attain the envisaged 150,000MW capacity by 2020.

He further indicted the Federal Government for making no effort to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil, stressing that although corruption is endemic in the political system and a major challenge to democratic governance, the governments' war on graft was mostly selective.

'In the last 10 years, the PDP government has not been able to resuscitate Nigeria's textile industry, which is the highest labour intensive industry. What guarantee do we have that in the next 10 years they will be able to make any progress?' he queried.

Shekarau insisted that true democracy and responsible leadership were the only elements that could bring about the much-needed change in the polity.