The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, says the ruling party, All Progressive Congress (APC) used propaganda and empty promises to win the 2015 election.

Ekweremadu said APC had failed to fulfill any of the promises made to Nigerians during the election campaign.

While speaking at the National Conference of the PDP, which took place at the Thisday Dome in Abuja, on Thursday, he said the APC won the elections by promising what they could not deliver.

“Unfortunately, the chicken has come home to roost sooner than anticipated.

“No campaign promise, I repeat, no promise made by the present APC administration has been kept. They promised to scale up the exchange rate of our currency by making one naira equal to one US dollar. Have they kept this promise?

“They promised to bring back the Chibok girls in three months. Have they brought back the Chibok Girls? They promised to pay N5,000 to 25 million unemployed youths. Have they paid a kobo to any youth?

“They promised free meals to our children in the schools. Have they given any? They recently promised to end the Boko Haram insurgency in December 2015. We earnestly hope and pray that this particular promise is kept in the overall interest of our nation.”

“Inflation has nearly hit double digits high, rising to 9.4 percent in October from 9.3 per cent in September. Unemployment rate has hit the rooftop since May 2015, with the construction industry laying off tens of thousands of workers.

“There is massive job loss in the banking sector. Many businesses are being grounded because they can no longer buy spare parts or restock from Europe, China, Dubai, among others. The system is locked down. The capital market has lost over N400 billion in recent months.

“This nosedive is due mainly to the free fall of the naira, absence of clear economic direction, delay in the appointment of ministers, the cramping monetary policy of the administration, and the exclusion of Nigeria from the J.P Morgan Bond Index. Indeed, recession stares us in the face.

“It is on record that the PDP spearheaded the electoral reforms and expansion of democratic freedoms that ultimately gave birth to the ruling party and its victory in the last general elections.

“It is on record that former presidents of PDP extraction such as late President Musa Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan were always the first to congratulate the opposition each time they won elections.

“It is further on record that former President Jonathan called and congratulated the winner of the 2015 presidential election even before the end of vote count. He equally ensured a smooth handover.

“PDP governorship candidates, including incumbent governors, also followed his footstep in congratulating their victorious APC opponents. These have earned Nigeria accolades the world over.

“Sadly, rather than reciprocate and build on these democratic gestures and precedence, there is clear design and desperation by the ruling party to takeover, by hook or crook, states won by the PDP.”

Janeth J