Resign now, PDP tells Fashola over comments on Nigerian roads

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to resign immediately and apologise to Nigerians over his comment that the terrible state of roads in the country is being exaggerated.
The PDP described the statement as unfortunate, especially coming from the minister, who “ought to be apologetic for the decrepit state of roads across the country since the last four years he has been minister.”
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, yesterday, described Fashola’s statement as “a violent assault on the sensibility of over 200 million Nigerians and further demonstrates the disdain with which the Buhari administration holds our citizens who lost their lives and many more who daily undergo mental and physical torture using our dilapidated roads.”
The PDP held that “the minister’s comment must be premeditated and reflects the official position of the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, which has no regard for Nigerians and only thrives in propaganda and false claims to cover its failures in governance.”
According to PDP, “Every Nigerian knows that most of the major roads across the country are in sorry state and that traveling on our roads has become traumatizing and one of the highest life threatening experiences in our country since the last four years.
“The comment by the failed minister of works is therefore highly provocative and capable of invoking the anger of Nigerians, because it shows that either he has not been going through our roads and as such not in touch with reality or he has exposed himself as falsehearted official.
“Our party is, however, not surprised at such comment from the minister because the Buhari administration, in which he serves, thrives only in propaganda, blame game, excuses and false performance claims because it has nothing to offer.”
Meanwhile, PDP urges the Senate to assert its independence and refuse to allow the President Muhammadu Buhari-led executive to railroad it into passing the anti-people Value Added Tax (VAT) increase bill, which has been rejected by Nigerians.
The party expresses concerns that the bill has been hurriedly passed through second reading in the Senate even when the details were not made available to lawmakers.The PDP notes that the failure to avail the details of the bill to the lawmakers confirms its toxicity to the polity.
The party invites the Senate leadership to bear in mind that Nigerians have rejected the bill, which is designed by the Buhari Presidency to increase VAT from 5 percent to excruciating 7.5 percent, not minding its attendant adverse economic effect on Nigerians.Such a planned increase in VAT is insensitive, suppressive and if anything, will further impoverish Nigerians and worsen the prevailing agonizing economic situation in the country.
The opposition party urges the National Assembly to task the Buhari Presidency to rather end its manifest profligacy and seek ways to galvanize the system for wealth creation instead of this suppressive resort to imposition of taxes on Nigerians.