The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of being hypocritical over his persistent claim of reviving the railway when, in actual fact, “he has bluntly refused to grant the necessary right-of-way approval to the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) for the construction of its redline light rail project from Iddo to Ifo in Ogun State with a capacity to carry one million passengers per day.”This, the party said, is inspite of the fact that investors were ready to invest over one billion dollars in the project.

Lai Mohammed

In a statement issued in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said in failing to grant the approval, “which has been pending since May 2013, President Jonathan premised his action on the fact that Lagos is an enemy state’’.

The statement continued: ‘’President Jonathan is simply being hypocritical when he listed the revival of the railway as part of his Administration’s so-called achievements, during the kick-off of his electioneering campaign in Lagos, and during which he also tried to project himself and his party as friends of the South-west in general and Lagos in particular. His words and actions since assuming office six years ago do not support that.”

…Lauds Buhari, Osinbajo on social security

Meanwhile, APC in Osun State has congratulated the party’s presidential candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on their plan to start a massive social security scheme in Nigeria if voted into office.

“This,” the party said, “would be the first of its kind by any Federal Government in Nigeria for over a century of the country’s existence.”

In a release by the party’s state Director of Publicity, Research & Strategy, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, the APC appealed to all Nigerians to think deeply about what difference this scheme will make to the country in terms of poverty alleviation even as it contended that citizens of the state already have practical experience of what similar social security scheme has made to alleviate poverty in the state.

Osinbajo had, last week, told supporters in Osun, Edo and Ondo states that the APC-led Federal Government will employ 20,000 youths in each state of the federation and provide social security immediately on its assumption of power.

The APC argued: “If the outcome in Osun of similar projects executed by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was anything to go by, then the party’s presidential plan for the federation on social security will break grounds at a scale never before attempted in the ECOWAS sub-region and possibly in the entire continent of Africa.”