Nigeria better governed now than 2015 —Buhari
…30 million companies crumbled —PDP
Ayo Fadimu & Laraba Raphael
President Muhammadu Buhari has given his six- year administration a passmark with a verdict that Nigeria is now better governed better than in May 2015 when he assumed office and Nigerians are also better for it. This has however disputed by the opposition—The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—who have however expressed disagreement with the statement of President Buhari.
The President in his message also called on Nigerians especially the elite to be fair in their criticism of his administration. The President’s statement is coming barely few days after the statement made by Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Rev Father Mathew Kukah attracted heavy criticism from Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines.
According to the president’s Spokesman, Femi Adesina, the President made the appeal when he received in audience Rev. Yakubu Pam, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday
The president said, “Those criticising the administration should be fair in terms of reflecting on where we were before we came, where we are now and what resources are available to us and what we have done with the limited resources.
“We had to struggle paying debts, investing in road repairs and rebuilding, to revamp the rail and try to get power.
“This is what I hope the elite, when they want to criticise will use to compare notes.”
On the security situation especially in the Northeast, the president remarked: “What was the situation when we came? Try and ask people from Borno or from Adamawa for that matter and Yobe.
“What was the condition before we came and what is the condition now? Still, there are problems in Borno and Yobe, there are occasional Boko Haram problems, but they know the difference because a lot of them moved out of their states and moved to Kaduna, Kano and here (in Abuja).
“We were not spared of the attacks at the time. The government is doing its best and I hope that eventually, our best will be good enough.”
Buhari also assured that the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons was paramount on the agenda of government.
“The people in IDP camps, the weak, aged, I feel sorry for the young because this is the time they are supposed to get education.
“We must not allow this time to pass because it will never be regained. So we are really interested in what is happening there and we are doing our best,” the president said.
He commended the Executive Secretary on his activities on peace building around the country in spite of his short time in the saddle and assured him of the listening ear of the government whenever he had contributions to make.
Earlier in his remarks, Pam had intimated the president with some of the activities of the Commission since he was appointed in July 2020.
According to him, such activities include; organisation of Peace Summit on Southern Kaduna as well as peace building efforts in Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa States.
He added that the commission had proposed to host Christian religious leaders in a summit to help douse pressures within the polity, among other plans lined up
However, in its response, PDP rejected the President’s claim over his recent performance, insisting that the Buhari administration has failed Nigerians since the President took over power in the last five years.
In a statement made available to Nigerian NewsDirect yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan stated that, “How does President Buhari want an unmerited pass mark knowing that under his watch, bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and vandals, who have been pushed to the fringes before he took over in 2015, have now resurged, taking communities hostage, raping our women, beheading our compatriots and foisting a reign of terror to the extent that our nation ranked as the third country with the highest level of terrorism in 2019, after Iran and Afghanistan?”
According to Ologbondiyan, “How does President Buhari sleep in the night, in the comfort of Aso villa, knowing that because of his failures, millions of Nigerians go to bed on empty stomach; that since he took over, more than 30 million businesses have crumbled; that over 60 million Nigerians have lost their means of livelihood resulting in excruciating hardship in our country in the last five years?”
“Does President Buhari need to be reminded that since he took over, no less than 30 million businesses have crumbled; that over 60 million Nigerians have lost their source of livelihood; that when he took over in 2015 our naira was at N160 to a dollar but has now been weakened to almost N500 per dollar?” Ologbondiyan highlighted.
He said, “It is unfortunate that President Buhari wants Nigerians to forget that under him, a liter of fuel sold for N87 per litre under the PDP now sells as high as N170 to N200; that the price of staple food such as rice which sold for N10,000 per bag under the PDP now sells for N30,000; that a measure of garri which sold for N100 now sells for N350 and that a litre of palm oil which sold for N200 now sells for N600.
“The PDP insists that every fair criticism of Buhari’s administration only reveals a litany of failures and a reversal of fortune for our country in the last five years, adding that, it is unfortunate that at a time Nigerians expected President Buhari to be remorseful for his failures and rally compatriots for solution, he is rather seeking an endorsement of his cluelessness.
“The party asserts that Mr. President’s illusory self-assessment further validates our position that he has since abandoned governance for the luxury and pleasures of Aso Presidential villa, having lost sync with the reality of the devastation his incompetent administration has brought to our nation in the last five years.
“It is unfortunate that President Buhari wants Nigerians to overlook the fact that he wrecked a robust economy handed over to him in 2015 with Fitch B+ rating as one of the fastest growing economy in the world and turned our nation into the world’s poverty capital and a beggar nation, that is now borrowing from all parts of the world?
“Our party counsels President Buhari and his handlers to note that Nigerians are already faced with the ugly realities of their misrule and cannot be beguiled by false performance claims emanating from them.”
