Press Statement
The
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammad Buhari to
rather use the benefit of his state visit to Ghana to draw lessons from his
Ghanian counterpart, President Nana Akufo-Addo on how
to run a peaceful,
united and economically vibrant nation.
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo and President Muhammadu Buhari |
The party also
criticized the President for offering to assist Ghana
in her war against
corruption, when his own administration reeks heavily with corruption as
evinced by the Transparency International report which exposed the fact that
corruption has worsened in Nigeria under his watch.
The party, in a
statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on
Wednesday said the President and his handlers should have been embarrassed that
while the President of Ghana paraded credentials of a robust economy and a
peaceful nation,
When President Buhari
was reeling out President Akufo-Addo achievements in his one year in office;
his ingenious approach to job creation; the farming for job initiative, the
senior high school free education, one district-one factory projects and one
village-one dam initiatives among others; we hope our dear President reflected
on the fact that back home, his inept government had instead, wrecked our once
robust economy, the reason he had nothing to present to the world at the
ceremony.
We hope President
Buhari recollects that unlike his Ghanaian counterpart, his administration had
nothing to show in its first year in office. Our President recalls that under
his own watch, over 8 million Nigerians have lost their jobs, 16 million
remained unemployed, 18 million more were underemployed while another 27.44
million refused to work for various reasons related to frustrations occasioned
by the negative policies of his government.
In the same vein, we
hope President Buhari notes that unlike his Ghanaian counterpart, who initiated
development projects and opened factories, in Nigeria under his watch, many
factories have shut down, infrastructures are collapsing, inflation has soared,
fuel price has moved from N86.50 to N250-N300 per liter in various parts of his
country, while the nation’s debt profile has continued to escalate.
Furthermore, when
President Buhari offered to assist Ghana
in her fight against corruption, we hope he remembered that the world already
knows that back home, his administration reeks of allegations bordering on
corruption in high places and the Transparency International (TI) report has
exposed the fact that corruption has worsened in Nigeria under his government.
Today, the world knows
that what obtains in Nigeria
is direct persecution of opposition members under the guise of a fight against
corruption, which has been aided by intimidation of the judiciary and incessant
harassment of journalists.
The PDP therefore
urges President Buhari’s handlers to stop embarrassing the nation, especially
at the international stage.
We know that the
Presidency sought to use the Ghana
visit to curry international endorsement for their 2019 reelection bid,
unfortunately, they reaped a harvest of international embarrassment and ridicule.
Finally, we want to
urge Mr. President to be wary of turning Nigeria into a joke in the
international arena, especially as the world knows what is obtainable in his
government.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
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