…Says Nigerian Desperately Looking For Credible Alternative
The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is executing vicious policies that have inflicted hardship on Nigerians.
Mark, who spoke on Monday at the inauguration of ADC‘s 50-member Policy and Manifesto Committee, said, “Poverty and hardship have always existed, but the hardship and poverty that Nigerians are experiencing under the APC administration have gotten worse.”
He noted that food prices rise faster than wages, salaries, and incomes can cope, while electricity tariffs have increased astronomically despite the epileptic power supply.
“Strangely, the APC government continue to aggravate the citizens’ tax burdens. Insecurity continues to disrupt the people’s social and economic life,” he stated.
He accused the ruling party of giving statistics about increased revenue, economic growth, and gross domestic product (GDP) performance, which he said are meaningless because they do not positively affect the lives of the people.
“A growing economy that leaves the majority behind in poverty is fundamentally flawed. Economic progress must be measured by its impact on people’s lives, not by statistics alone,” he argued.
Mark told his party members that Nigerians are desperately looking for a party with credible alternative ideas, actions and policies that would improve their lives and lay a solid foundation on which they can improve their future.
“They want policies that show compassion,” he said, pointing out, however, that the people are not looking for clever arguments.
“They want policies and actions that show that government understands what they are going through and is prepared to act with clarity, courage and most importantly with compassion.
“Nigerians are not looking for who to blame for their suffering; they already know who is responsible for that.
“They are looking for who will ease the pains. They want real, practical solutions that address the challenges of today, not policies that expect them to continue to give and give and give,” he stated.
He told the committee members to think outside of the box and ask hard questions about why things are not working in Nigeria, pointing out that too often, policy in the country has been an academic exercise detached from the very people it is meant to serve.
“Documents are produced, committees are set up, reports are written, white papers are produced, yet nothing changes in the lives of the people, which is what matters most,” Mark regretted.
He stated that Nigeria does not need rhetoric but honest thinking and workable solutions to its many challenging problems.
“As a party, we must be prepared not just to win power, but to justify power through service.
“The ADC must be known not for noise, but for seriousness. Not for empty promises, but for performance, not for propaganda, but for reality,” he said.
Mark stated the party must confront security when it takes over, noting that insecurity is not only about loss of life but “about abandoned farms, displaced communities in IDP camps, kidnapping, closed schools, and an atmosphere of fear that suffocates economic activity.
“We must also pay attention to jobs, small businesses, and the informal economy, because this is where most Nigerians are active participants. When policies ignore how people actually earn a living, they fail before they begin.
“We must put in place safety measures that make it difficult, if not impossible, for any individual to take total control of the party no matter how rich or powerful he or she may be.
“We must reckon with governance itself. Weak institutions, poor coordination, and lack of accountability are not abstract problems. They are the reason good ideas collapse at the point of execution. When governance is broken, policy becomes theory.”
The 50-member committee which has former APC National Chairman John Odigie Oyegun, as Chairman, and former ADC presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi, as Deputy, according to a statement by ADC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has the responsibility of “articulating a clear, coherent, and credible policy direction that reflects the aspirations of Nigerians and positions the ADC as a serious alternative platform for responsible leadership and national renewal.”
Oyegun, in his speech, regretted that the party manifesto is abandoned immediately government is formed.
The former Oyo State governor said Nigeria is “a contractor-governed nation,” noting that “proposals are prepared by contractors. The profits are already shared by all those who have interests.”
According to him, the project approved has nothing to do with even the programme that the president campaigned with, and said ADC should do things differently when it forms the next government.
