The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed Prof. Pat Utomi for likening Nigeria’s democratic experience to fascist conditions in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Felix Morka, described the comparison as reckless, irresponsible, insensitive, and beneath a man of Utomi’s standing.
APC further stated that the announcement of a “shadow government” by Utomi is a categorical demonstration of the impunity of opposition actors and the high tolerance of dissent by the Tinubu administration.
APC noted that it is mind-boggling how Utomi and his fellow opposition figures, who boast of superior knowledge of solutions to Nigeria’s complex problems and challenges, have been unable to sensibly and competently manage the internal affairs of their parties but continue to spew vile accusations against the APC without any shame.
It insists that the wave of defections into the APC, while indicative of the rudderless leadership of opposition parties, is a clear endorsement of the visionary and inclusive leadership of President Bola Tinubu, and the massive transformation that is now underway in our country.
“These defectors are citizens who have decided to be direct participants in the unfolding historic repositioning of our nation, who have elevated patriotism over partisanship and are ready to place their hands on deck with this bold President of progress to steer the ship of the Nigerian state away from the brink to stable, safer, and prosperous grounds,” APC noted.
“The party claimed that Utomi’s failed bid for the Delta State APC gubernatorial ticket in 2019, an unfulfilled stalwart of the Labour Party (LP) in Peter Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign, and his ‘several dead-on-arrival third force mega opposition gambles’ have clearly taken a huge toll on his political judgment.
“That Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of LP both campaigned, like President Tinubu, to end the system of fuel subsidy, is not propaganda, as Utomi alleges in his revisionist quibbles. Rather, it is a statement of fact that both Atiku and Obi campaigned on that policy approach.
“Even as a political economist, Utomi continues to fumble through conversations on the question of an alternative approach to both policies. Simply exploiting and dramatising what are inevitable initial difficulties associated with the policies Nigerians have had to endure for sustainable growth and prosperity is not genius; it smacks of crass political opportunism and desperation.
“No democratic norm obligates a ruling party to build and teach opposition parties how to govern themselves. Just as there is no democratic tenet that prohibits a ruling party from accepting citizens who choose to join its membership. APC bears no responsibility to administer the internal affairs of opposition parties and takes no responsibility for the dysfunction and seeming disintegration of the parties.”
