By Aideloje Ojo
Minna
Niger state government has called on the people of the state to dismiss the All Progressives Congress (APC) criticism of the recent cabinet reshuffle by the Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu-led PDP government, describing the allegations as “not only false and baseless, but callous.”
Reacting to APC’s allegation that last week’s cabinet shake-up was carried out for political expediency, the Commissioner for Information, Communications and Strategy, Danladi Ndayebo, in a statement issued yesterday in Minna said the party’s statement was “careless, provocative and contemptuous.”
Ndayebo wondered why the APC would want to cast aspersions on the integrity of the PDP-led government in the state over a cabinet reshuffle that was carried out to reposition the executive council for optimal performance.
The statement said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the decision to re-jig the composition of the executive council was premised on the need to reposition the cabinet for efficiency and effectiveness anchored on the state’s vision to become one of the top three most developed state economies in the country.
“We only hope that the unnecessarily aggressive statement by the APC at a time the state is trying to make unprecedented progress is not a confirmation of our fear that the APC is pursuing a political objective of discrediting the government at all costs.”
On the performance of the PDP government, Ndayebo said the opposition must be blind not to notice Governor Aliyu’s achievements.
The statement advised APC to “criticise the government constructively rather than engaging in cheap shots and meaningless diatribe.”
He reiterated its earlier call on opposition elements in the state to join hands with the PDP in moving the state forward.