By joshua 
Gbenga Hashim Urges Nigerians to Unite, Says APC Has Pushed Nation to the Brink
Former presidential candidate, Dr Gbenga Olawepo Hashim, has called on Nigerians to rise above political and ethnic divisions and unite to rescue the nation from what he described as the “ruinous grip” of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement issued on Monday, Hashim accused the ruling party of mismanaging the economy, plunging the country into unprecedented debt, and deepening poverty and insecurity.
“Nigerians must unite to defeat the evil that the APC has come to represent,” he said. “The policies that have increased poverty, inflation, and economic hardship are affecting every Nigerian, regardless of religion or ethnicity.”
Hashim lamented what he called the “monumental economic disaster” caused by the APC’s leadership over the past decade, saying the country’s Gross Domestic Product had shrunk from $574 billion in 2014 to less than $259 billion.
“The APC’s ten years of wrong economic decisions have wrecked our national economy,” he said. “They ballooned our debt from ₦12 trillion in 2014 to about ₦198 trillion today—an increase of over 1,500%. That is not just mismanagement; it is economic vandalism.”
He urged Nigerians not to fall for what he described as the ruling party’s attempts to divide the country along ethnic and religious lines.
“We should never allow the APC to keep pitting the South against the North or Christians against Muslims. Hunger has no tribe. Poverty has no religion. The pain is the same everywhere,” Hashim said.
On insecurity, the former presidential candidate decried what he termed a total breakdown of law and order, warning that the country could not overcome its security challenges under the APC government.
“At the security front, the nation is bleeding profusely,” he said. “From terrorism to kidnapping, no part of Nigeria is safe. We cannot stop insecurity unless we send the APC out of power.”
Hashim stressed that insecurity had crippled agricultural productivity, discouraged investors, and worsened the economic situation, leaving millions of Nigerians in despair.
He called on opposition parties and leaders to unite around shared goals such as transparent elections and electoral reforms, regardless of political affiliations.
“For my fellow political leaders in the opposition, I appeal for unity,” he said. “We don’t all need to belong to one party, but our cooperation should be built on programmes that will restore hope to Nigerians.”
Hashim expressed confidence that the ruling party would be rejected in a free and fair election.
“No matter how many candidates contest against the APC, if the election is fair, the party will fail,” he said. “Current polling shows the APC performing below 20% both in the North and South.”
He concluded by urging citizens to overcome fear and take collective action to reclaim the country’s future.
“This is a moral call to action,” Hashim declared. “Nigeria can no longer survive on borrowed time or borrowed money. The APC has pushed us to the edge; now is the time to stand up and push back.”