The People’s Redemption Party (PRP) has extended its congratulations to Nigerians on the occasion of the New Year, expressing hopes for better days ahead. In a press release signed by Abba Sule Namatazu, National Vice Chairman (North-West), the PRP highlighted the challenges faced by Nigerians in 2024 and called for improved governance and accountability.

“The PRP wishes to use this opportunity to congratulate Nigerians on the occasion of a happy New Year. May our days be long to witness and celebrate many more new years in good health and prosperity,” the statement read.

Reflecting on the past year, the PRP noted that 2024 had been a trying period for many Nigerian families and businesses, with the standard of living plummeting nationwide and the nation’s currency nose-diving against benchmark currencies. “2024 has been a trying period for many Nigerian families and businesses as the standard of living plummets nationwide and the nation’s currency nose-dived against the benchmark currencies; poverty, insecurity, and chaos spread,” the PRP stated.

The party saluted the courage and resilience of Nigerian families and prayed for better days ahead. “We salute the courage and resilience of Nigerian families and pray for better days ahead,” the statement added.

The PRP emphasized that Nigerians deserve a much better standard of living, given the country’s 64 years of self-rule and 25 years of uninterrupted democracy. “Having attained 64 years of self-rule and 25 years of uninterrupted democracy, the PRP believes that Nigerians deserve a much better standard of living than what it is today where basic necessities of life are beyond the reach of many families,” the party asserted.

The PRP criticized the poor quality of leadership since 1999, attributing Nigeria’s status as the “poverty capital of the world” to self-serving, inept, and visionless leaders. “It is unacceptable that in 25 years of uninterrupted democratic rule, Nigeria has become the ‘poverty capital of the world’ where life expectancy is among the lowest in the world. Nigeria has one of the highest infant mortality rates and has consistently featured at the apex of the global corruption index and at the bottom of the human development index. This is attributable to poor quality of leadership since 1999,” the PRP stated.

The party also expressed concern over plans by some states and the federal government to privatize public schools, warning that such moves would result in more youths being out of school and turning to crime. “The PRP is also aware of plans by some states and federal governments to privatize the few public schools in the country which will result in sending more youths out of school, and into the world of hopelessness and crime,” the statement read.

Addressing the issue of insecurity, the PRP called for a concerted effort involving all stakeholders to confront the problem head-on. “The spreading insecurity bedeviling some states is a cause for concern not only to the affected states but to the country as a whole and the sub-region in general,” the PRP noted.

The party also criticized the government’s handling of the minimum wage issue, urging stakeholders to begin implementing the minimum wage to avert possible industrial action. “We are disappointed that more than a year since the beginning of agitation for salary increase, and months after the passage of the national assembly act on minimum wage, neither the government nor the private sector has fully implemented it,” the PRP stated.

The PRP called on the federal government to rescind policies that resulted in high prices of petroleum products and increased poverty, advocating for the ban of imported petroleum derivatives that can be produced locally. “The recent increase in prices of petrol and other petroleum derivatives has brought the economy to its knees,” the party asserted.

In conclusion, the PRP urged Nigerians to demand good governance and accountability from their leaders and to fully participate in the democratic process. “We call on Nigerians to rise up and demand good governance and accountability from our leaders, and to discharge their responsibilities in every sphere of nation-building,” the statement concluded.