By Ishaya Ibrahim
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday described President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day broadcast as an insult on the psyche of Nigerians and a mockery of “our national integrity as an independent state.”
The opposition party said the speech was completely unpresidential, lacking in patriotic stance and replete with manifest inconsistencies,
contradictions, paradoxes and false performance claims.
PDP said the alleged falsehoods inherent in the speech confirm that Nigeria is in the wrong hands.
A statement by the national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, which was made available to TheNiche said, “The PDP notes that President Buhari, in his recorded address, failed to forcefully address the key issues of freedom, social justice, constitutional order, separation of powers, rule of law, human rights, credible elections, national cohesion, accountability and transparency in government; the very fundamentals of an independent state, because his administration had violated them all.”
The party regretted that “President Buhari had no forceful reassurances
on the challenge of escalated insecurity under his watch; he had no
clear-cut and operable blueprint to revamp our economy, which his
administration wrecked in a period of four years, resulting in so much
hardship and despondency that Nigerians now resort to suicide and
slavery abroad as options.”
The party further noted that the address “exposes that the Buhari
Presidency is not interested in nation building; that it is completely
disconnected from the people and remains insensitive to the plights of
Nigerians.
“If anything, Mr. President only succeeded in further
demonstrating that his administration is, indeed, in no position to
deliver a credible, acceptable and satisfactory independence address.
“This is so because under the Buhari Presidency, our nation has
experienced the worst form of division, deprivation, human right abuse,
constitutional violations, disregard to rule of law, electoral
malpractices, disobedience to court order, disrespect for separation of
powers and curtailing of press freedom.”
The PDP further lamented that due to the incompetence and legitimacy
challenges confronting the Buhari Presidency, Nigeria was losing her
voice and due regard in the international arena; as the administration
has remained lacking in the required capacity and boldness to forcefully
engage other world leaders on critical issues.
“The dearth in foreign direct investment and the inhuman treatments being
meted out on our citizens in countries where we were once held in very
high esteem, are some of the injuries our nation is suffering under the
Buhari administration.”
The party said it was depressing that while other leaders motivate
their citizens on a day like this, President Buhari was presenting
uninspiring claims, propaganda and empty promises.