The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammadu
Buhari to rather use the benefit of his state visit to Ghana to draw
lessons from his Ghanaian counterpart, President Nana Akufo-Addo on how
to run a peaceful, united and economically vibrant nation.
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’s report
which it claims “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, Nigeria, under
the Buhari Presidency is plagued with economic recession and upsurge of
violence and daily bloodletting.
“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.”