APC blasts Atiku, Amaechi, El-Rufai as failed politicians desperate for power

The All Progressives Congress has criticised ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, labelling them as unsuccessful politicians driven by a desperate quest for power motivated solely by self-interest.

In a statement released on Monday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, defended President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, stating that his reforms have sparked an unprecedented economic transformation in Nigeria.

He highlighted that these changes anchored on realistic pricing of the naira and fuel are gradually shifting the nation from a consumption-driven economy to a production-based one.

Over the weekend, Atiku, Amaechi, and El-Rufai criticised Tinubu, holding him responsible for the growing poverty in Nigeria.

They accused him of using poverty as a political tool, arguing that his economic reforms are deepening the country’s hardship by benefiting a small elite while leaving the majority of Nigerians to suffer.

The APC stated that Atiku, Amaechi, and El-Rufai have all held top political positions in Nigeria between 1999 and 2023 serving as Vice President, Governors, or Ministers yet failed to tackle the very issues they are now accusing Tinubu of neglecting.

Morka stated, “In all 24 years, the trio, individually or collectively, could not and did not eradicate poverty in their states or the country. They did not even attempt to address, let alone tackle, the structural challenges and distortions that stifled the economy and worsened poverty over the years.

“Rather, they revelled in mindless rent-seeking behaviour, sold national assets to their cronies for mere pittance, engaged in corrupt and wasteful expenditures in their states, and relentlessly sponsored state violence against their own people.

“Take the case of Amaechi, the celebrant, who served for an unbroken total of 24 years – eight years as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, eight years as Governor of Rivers State, and eight years as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That’s about a quarter of a century of freeloading by Amaechi on state resources, with absolutely no record of attempting to combat poverty in his Rivers State or the country.

“When Amaechi declared, I am hungry, he must mean, and must be understood to mean, that he is hungry and desperate to return to his felt entitled dependency on state resources and patronage. That he is hungry barely two years out of office simply underscores the depth of the self-serving motivations of Amaechi and his coalition partners in their quest for power for selfish exploitation, and not for the interest of the people.”

The APC claimed that Nigerians are not fooled by what it described as the disruptive political tactics of Amaechi and his allies, noting that they are steadily losing their influence over the economy.
According to the APC, Atiku, Amaechi, and El-Rufai who were used to exploiting the system are now being forced to adjust to President Tinubu’s groundbreaking reforms, which prioritize hard work, productivity, and innovation over personal gain.

Morka stated, “On the contrary, it was the failure of previous administrations, particularly 16 years of PDP administrations, to allow the Naira to find its real value that created the economic conditions of poverty that the present administration is now addressing.

“The erstwhile artificially overvalued Naira stifled local production, encouraged import dependency, and exacerbated poverty. Ironically, Atiku and Peter Obi, who are now vociferously criticizing President Tinubu’s policies, amassed their wealth from the very import-dependent system they are desperately trying to preserve.

“Atiku, a former Customs Officer, and Obi, a successful importer, re

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