Insecurity, poverty show democracy has failed Nigerians — YPP

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — The Young Progressives Party, YPP, on Monday said democracy had failed Nigerians, blaming worsening insecurity, deepening poverty, corruption and alleged financial irregularities in key government institutions on years of poor leadership and weak accountability.

The opposition party said that instead of delivering prosperity, security and stronger institutions after 27 years of uninterrupted democratic rule, Nigeria has become a country where millions struggle with hardship, hunger and fear, while public confidence in government continues to decline.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Bishop Amakiri, said the country’s democratic journey had been undermined by failed leadership and a lack of political will to confront major national challenges.

“Twenty-seven years of uninterrupted democracy should ordinarily be a cause for celebration. Unfortunately, for millions of Nigerians, it has become a painful reminder of missed opportunities, broken promises and failed leadership,” Amakiri said.

A major focus of the party’s criticism was the security situation, which it described as one of the biggest failures of successive administrations, particularly the APC-led government.

According to the YPP, violence has spread across the country despite huge spending on defence and security, disrupting farming activities, worsening food insecurity and exposing students and teachers to kidnapping.

“More disturbing is the government’s apparent reluctance to confront the financiers of terrorism. The oxygen sustaining terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria remains the network of individuals and organisations that fund these criminal enterprises,” he said.

The party also expressed concern over the continued captivity of abducted students and teachers in Oyo and Borno states, describing it as evidence of government’s failure to respond with sufficient urgency.

“The continued captivity of abducted students and teachers in Oyo and Borno States nearly a month after their abduction is further evidence of the helplessness and lack of urgency displayed by government in addressing this crisis,” Amakiri added.

The YPP further called for independent investigations into alleged financial irregularities in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and the Ministry of Power, saying recent developments had raised serious concerns about accountability in the management of public resources.

“The recent revelations by the Senate concerning alleged financial irregularities amounting to N210 trillion within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the alleged misappropriation of funds earmarked for refinery rehabilitation have once again exposed the depth of corruption in public institutions,” he said.

The party also criticised the power sector, saying consumers were paying more for electricity despite declining service delivery.

“Nigerians are paying more for electricity while receiving less. The disconnect between increasing costs and declining service delivery raises serious concerns about governance and accountability within the sector,” he stated.

On the economy, the YPP said recent reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and electricity tariff increases, had imposed greater hardship on Nigerians without corresponding improvements in living conditions.

“Poverty has reached unprecedented levels. Millions of Nigerians struggle daily to afford basic necessities, while those entrusted with public office continue to live extravagantly, seemingly disconnected from the hardships confronting the people,” the YPP chairman said.

The party called for forensic audits of the NNPCL and the Ministry of Power, prosecution of anyone found culpable of wrongdoing, stronger oversight of defence spending, implementation of the Oronsaye Report, greater transparency in public finance management and the establishment of state police.

“We therefore call on the government to abandon complacency and embrace bold reforms that address insecurity, corruption, economic hardship and institutional decay,” Amakiri said.

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