Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have warned partisan individuals and groups against politicising Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.

The APC governors issued the warning moments after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) launched attack against President Muhammadu Buhari over his new year address to the nation.

The PDP had dismissed the President’s speech as empty, directionless and a confirmation that Nigeria is leaderless.

It also expressed disappointment over what it saw as Buhari’s failure to “make any decisive pronouncement to end the ongoing persecution of #EndSARS protesters or order a presidential inquest into the reported Lekki killing.”

The APC governors under the aegis of Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) said in a statement that Nigerians should be united in finding solutions to the economic and security challenges facing the country.

In the statement signed by their chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the governors described 2020 as “the most challenging year of the last century.”

“People and nations across the globe are still struggling with the health pandemic occasioned by Covid-19. The discovery of vaccine at the end of 2020 is a landmark progress, which certainly bolster hope that human life will return to normal in 2021,” they said.

They added: “Apart from the difficult health challenges experienced by citizens who got infected by the Covid-19 virus, resulting in unfortunate loss of lives, periods of lockdowns in Nigeria and world over as a result of the pandemic, spanning a period of close to six months, created a lot of hardships for our citizens. The adverse economic consequences have created economic recessions for virtually all countries.

“Combined effects of all these have further increased our security challenges in the country. The challenge before us as a nation is to ensure the development of democratic institutions in the country to be able to mobilise effective national responses and resolution of the health challenges created by the pandemic, the economic difficulty and the security challenges facing the country. “These are not issues that should be reduced to politics. We must appeal to all Nigerian to have a strong sense of national unity and togetherness in responding to these challenges.”

The governors commended Nigerians across party lines for their support in the efforts of government at curtailing the dreaded Covid-19 infection and also acknowledged the “excellent work” of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.”

Their party, the APC, they said “is able to inspire the process of producing a national budget for the year 2021 before the New Year.

“This new fiscal orientation is part of the change we promised Nigerians. This is made possible given a committed, patriotic and selfless leadership of the legislative arm of government under His Excellency, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, Senate President and Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker, House of Representatives.

“As a party and as a government, we have set a new standard in our national budgeting system. Already, many of our states have similarly replicated this feat.

‘We therefore also commend all our state legislatures for effectively demonstrating abiding loyalty to ensure that all our governments lived up to our philosophy of change.

“One issue that has dominated public attention, especially in the second half of 2020 was the new wave of insecurity in the country. Beyond Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, sadly we now have banditry in North West, which is as disruptive and threatening as the activities of insurgents.

“In addition, kidnapping activities is rampant in North Central and South West and is spreading to every part of the country. Every Nigerian is justifiably disturbed by this unfortunate development.

“While acknowledging that our security agencies are doing their best to control the situation, a lot more needs to be done. We are confident that our security agencies will effectively restore order and guarantee security of lives and properties of all Nigerians in every part of the country.

“In 2021, we shall continue to take all the necessary steps to roll out programmes that will consolidate development of synergy, experience sharing and collaboration by all progressive states.

“The Progressive Governors Forum felicitates with all Nigerians on this festive season and reiterate our commitment to the unity and development of Nigeria, development of our democratic institutions while putting in place genuine programmes to bring an end to Covid-19 pandemic, tackle insecurity, fight crime, destroy all vestiges of corruption and create jobs and opportunities for all Nigerians.

“This would remain the basis of our programmes for massive infrastructural projects that would stimulate economic activity, reduce inequality and diminish poverty.

The PDP in a critique of the President’s speech dismissed it as full of lame excuses and empty promises.

It said it was also empty, directionless and a confirmation that Nigeria is leaderless.

“As a president, President Muhammadu Buhari has not demonstrated the capacity to play his own part, as he claimed, having failed to find a solution for the security and economic challenges that pervade our nation under his incompetent and lethargic watch,” the PDP said in a statement yesterday.

It added: “The myriad of lame excuses in Mr. President’s address again underlines our national misfortune of weak leadership that is unable to resolutely confront and vanquish bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and vandals who are now holding our nation hostage, ravaging our communities, kidnapping and beheading our compatriots without restrain.

“The situation at hand requires more than an armchair commander in chief who only dwells on excuses for manifest failures. President Buhari’s New Year address only points to the fact that our nation is in dire need of a leadership that is willing, able and ready to engage from the fronts.

“On the economy, Mr. President failed to articulate a definite economic recovery blueprint. He had no clear strategies to shore up the value of our naira, repay and end our foreign borrowings, revamp our external reserves, give hope to foreign investors, move promises of job creation from the perpetual drawing board and guarantee food security, health care among others.

“Mr. President had the opportunity to redeem his administration by taking steps that will address high costs of food, education and housing deficit; address the high price of fuel, multiple taxes and tariffs that bear pressure on businesses and families as well as how to enhance national productivity and grow our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“In the same vein, our party finds it lamentable that President Buhari, in his reference to the demonstration by our youths, did not make any decisive pronouncement to end the ongoing persecution of #EndSARS protesters or order a presidential inquest into the reported Lekki killing.