The All Progressives Congress on Monday slammed the Peoples Democratic Party for allegedly politicising the recent stampedes that claimed many lives in Ibadan, Oyo State; Abuja; and Anambra during food distribution events.
The warning was issued in a statement in Abuja by the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.
Morka was responding to Sunday’s accusation by the opposition PDP, which described the tragic incidents as a “testament to the alarming level of misery, poverty, starvation, and desperation for survival” under President Bola Tinubu’s APC-led government.
In its reaction, the ruling party expressed astonishment that, during a time of national mourning, the PDP chose to engage in what it termed “callous political chicanery.”
The APC spokesman further noted that Nigerians have not forgotten the tragic stampede during the Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment exercise at the Abuja stadium in 2014, under the PDP’s administration, which left many job seekers dead and scores injured.
“Rather than genuinely commiserating with the victims and their families, the PDP has chosen to politicise the grief of the victims by blaming the stampedes on the APC-led administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“The tragedies have united well-meaning Nigerians in mourning and sober reflection on how such incidents might have been avoided through better planning and organisation by all involved.
“The PDP’s allegations only remind us of its sordid record of maladministration and utter incompetence in 2014. It is either mischievous or entirely out of touch with reality to suggest that the APC-led administration has not shown commitment to Nigerians’ welfare. Laughably, the PDP claimed that APC policies ruptured a ‘once-thriving economy.’
“For years, successive PDP administrations operated a phantom economy riddled with complex distortions and suffocating corruption while deluding Nigerians into thinking that the economy was healthy. Changing course from the lies and deception of the PDP, the economy is now rebounding steadily as reforms continue to yield wholesome dividends,” Morka stated.
