APC, PDP in War of Words Over Bye-Elections, State of the Economy

…Sani: Ruling Party Should Fix Economy, Not Gloat Over Bye-Elections

By John Paul

The war of words between Nigeria’s two leading political parties took a new turn yesterday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) launched fresh attacks on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), mocking it as “a party in ruins” and claiming its governors are the biggest beneficiaries of President Bola Tinubu’s policies. But Umar Sani, former spokesman of the PDP presidential campaign and ex-Senior Special Assistant on Media to former Vice President Namadi Sambo, swiftly fired back, accusing the APC of empty grandstanding while Nigerians groan under unprecedented hardship.

The APC’s statement, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, came in response to weekend comments by PDP governors who accused the ruling party of undemocratic practices ahead of the 2027 elections. Instead of addressing the substance of those concerns, the APC dismissed the PDP as being in “deep comatose” and “savaged by crisis,” citing recent bye-election victories in Zamfara, Adamawa, and Kano as proof that Nigerians had embraced Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.

Reacting, Umar Sani described the APC’s position as reckless and insensitive, arguing that the party’s obsession with bye-election victories cannot mask the hunger and anger in the land. “It is laughable that a party presiding over the highest cost of living in Nigeria’s history would boast of popularity when ordinary citizens cannot afford food, fuel, or basic shelter,” he said. “Rather than mocking the PDP, the APC should focus on fixing the economy they have wrecked.

“The fuel subsidy removal they protested in 2015 aimed at final subsidy removal, making the pump price sell at N141.00 per litre, but what do we have today? N900-N1000 per litre. Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry the social safety nets occasioned by the creation of SureP, which touched their lives. APC does not care and cannot create meaningful social safety nets; rather, they are busy celebrating CNG as a project. In a country with plenty of fuel, we are suffering. They protested while they detest protest.”

The APC also accused PDP governors of hypocrisy, alleging they celebrate democracy only when they win and condemn it when they lose. But Sani countered that the PDP’s criticisms were aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s democratic process, which he said has been consistently undermined by the APC since 2015. “This is a party that has turned elections into state-managed operations and reduced democracy to a hollow ritual. They have no moral standing to lecture the PDP,” he said.

Umar continued: “Despite the interference by proxy of the APC in the internal affairs of the PDP, it has withstood their machinations and has remained strong like the wall of Gibraltar. We are all witnesses to how those elections were conducted amidst security intimidation and ballot stuffing. It is no wonder that Nigeria’s elder statesman, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, accused Prof Mahmud Yakubu of destroying and commercializing INEC.”

In its statement, the APC praised Tinubu’s economic policies, pointing out that federal allocations to state governments had doubled. But Sani dismissed the claim as another deceitful narrative. “Increased allocations have only fattened the pockets of APC cronies while Nigerians starve. Where is the relief for citizens? Where is the security of lives and property? Nigerians are not fooled; when you look at the value of the Naira to the dollar in 2015, you will realize that the so-called increase allocation pales into insignificance when compared to that of the PDP era,” he said.

The APC insisted that “Nigeria will not return to the dark days of PDP-led rule,” even as Tinubu’s government faces mounting criticism that the current hardship is without precedent. Sani retorted that the so-called “dark days” pale in comparison to the poverty, hunger, and fear unleashed since the removal of fuel subsidy and the collapse of the naira. “These are not dark days; they are nostalgic to Nigerians as they constantly refer to it as the best days Nigerians have ever witnessed where a bag of rice sold for eight thousand naira as against the eighty thousand naira it currently sells; it is therefore pitch-black nights created by the APC,” he said.

While urging Nigerians to ignore what it called the “empty rhetoric” of the PDP, the APC has only drawn further fire from critics who say its constant attacks expose its failure to govern. “The truth is simple,” Sani declared. “The APC is drowning, and rather than admit it, they are clutching at bye-election results as proof of survival. Nigerians are watching, and 2027 will be their verdict.”