'Judge The APC After 16 Years' - Bolaji Abdullahi

The National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congres, (APC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has urged Nigerians to only judge the party after 16 years, saying it is unfair and uncharitable to compare the 16 years under the erstwhile ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), with three years under the APC.

Abdullahi who was responding to questions by some newsmen after the recently celebrated Democracy Day celebration said since the PDP ruled the country for 16 years, it would only be fair for the APC to be judged after also ruling for 16 years as well.

"I think the fact that we are celebrating 19 years of uninterrupted democratic practice is itself an achievement. It is worth celebrating by itself, given that it is the first time in our history as a country that we have this long stretch of democratic practice going to two decades.

We should congratulate ourselves as a country and continue to work hard to build democracy, regardless of its imperfections, believing that it is the only form of government that can best serve the interest of our people.

Now having said that, if you look at some of the defining progress this country has made, it has happened in the last 19 years. Whether it is the revolution in information and telecommunication technology, whether it is the entertainment industry, the movie industry, you can look at the broad range of the social revolution that has happened in Nigeria in recent times, they have all happened under democratic rule.

These are the non tangible benefits that democracy brings to a country, because people will have the liberty to express themselves; enterprise will thrive and that’s what has happened.

APC needs 16 years before you can compare it with PDP —Bolaji Abdullahi

I know Nigerians are impatience with the way things are going in the country but don't forget that the PDP ruled the country for 16 years and the APC has only been in power for three years. As far as I am concerned, there is no basis for comparison. You can only judge the APC after 16 years if you want to be fair."