News Release: Labour Party Cautions General Buhari Over Chibok Girls and Other Campaign Promises

The Labour Party has warned the President-elect and his party, the All Progressives Congress not to take Nigerians for granted by backing down on their campaign promises, as the people are expectant of real change. This is contained in a statement issued in Lagos by the National scribe of the party. Barrister Kayode Ajulo.

According to Barrister Ajulo, “It is quite disturbing that even before constituting his transition committee that would examine the hand-over notes of various ministries and recommend practical implementation strategy based on his campaign promises, President elect, General Mohamodu Buhari has already started giving the thumb up to the naysayers. 

The basis on which those Nigerians that voted for Buhari in the March 28 2015 presidential election did and with so much passion was the believe that he could be an instrument of thorough and fundamental changes carried out with the sharpness and precision of a sound officer of the Nigerian army, though retired. 

Two very important grounds on which the general presented himself to the Nigerian electorate to canvass for support are already being demolished by no other person than the retired general himself. 

“While in the Labour Party, we have never hidden our support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the last election, we have resolved to accept the results and key into those promises made by the winner, since these democratically approximate the quest of the Nigerian people. 

It however amounts to taking the people for granted and being insensitive to the yearnings of the public to want to even suggest that campaign promises cannot be fulfilled by the winner at the pace desired by the people. 

Only a few days ago president elect, Mohamodu Buhari said point blank that Nigerians should not expect miracles. The question to ask Buhari and his co-travelers in APC is that did they promise Nigerians miracles? If they did then honor demands that they perform such miracles? But if they did not promise miracles but had promised to solve real problems, then they should not expect Nigerians to fold their arms and resign to fate. Those promises must be fulfilled significantly.

“Indeed, Nigerians need to ask, before they made promises concerning building of refineries, power supplies, one meal a day, dole and fighting corruption did they not asses the realities? In what way does showing commitment to these promises make them magicians of miracle workers? Or were those promises mere campaign gimmicks?  Were those promises part of propaganda and mere promo to run down the incumbent and promote the then candidate of APC?  

On our part for now, we would like to believe that the promises were not mere attempts to hoodwink an entire nation. That will be too costly for a largeopposition cobbled out of the most disparate collection and shades of political ideas and hazy principles by a few deft politicians.

“But again, the utterances in the last 48 hours have again shown that Nigerians need to be on their toes so that they are not severally raped by a bunch of power desperadoes who would make just any promise in order to seize hold of power and treasury, then bares their fangs after ascending the throne. 

We recall that the APC’s promise to bring home the Chibok girls was one major front in their offensive against the Jonathan administration. 

The inability of President Jonathan to promptly defeat Boko Haram and bring back the girls alive was showcased as evidence of incompetence and lack of commitment to security by the government. APC promised to win the war and bring home the girls as soon as it was handed power. 

But today, like Janus with two faces, they are showing the other face. President elect has changed the tune from bringing home “our  girls” to “I cannot promise that we can find them.”  This kind of double speak, coming from a president who in his days as military ruler had been accused of double standards, smacks of incorrigible  bend towards broken promises. It would thus appear that all along the APC seemed to know how dare the situation and circumstances of the Chibok girls were, but would rather benefit from the electoral capital of alluring promises instead of commending genuine and  relentless effort of the incumbent.

Barrister Ajulo, concluded that “as for us in the Labour Party, we have not lost hope in the capacity of human beings to change. It is not too late in the day for the APC to rekindle the people’s belief in them and their capacity to largely follow through their campaign promises. 

The lesson to learn is that, it is easy to come to power by propaganda and global conspiracy, but history has never shown an example of rulers who endured in power on the basis of propaganda and manipulations alone. Such manipulations, more often than not, hasten the fall of Janus-faced regimes. A stitch in time saves nine.”                                    

Released By

The Labour Party National Publicity Dept.