Press statement from the PDP below...
As
you are aware, today marks exactly thirty-two days of the inauguration
of a new administration under the APC, which was elected into power over
three months ago on the basis of their numerous promises to the
Nigerian people.
Even
though this government has continued to plead for patience, we are
worried that indications from President Muhammadu Buhari and his party
do not inspire desired confidence in the citizenry that they are
adequately equipped and ready to chart a direction for the enormous
challenges of governance.
In the last one month,
instead of a journey to change as they claim, all we have witnessed are
avoidable tension, wrangling within the ruling party, disruption of legislative
activities in our National Assembly, painful economic stagnation, pronouncement
of voodoo achievements and overall uncertainty in the polity all due to the
apparent inability of our respected President to provide leadership.
We have a President and a
party that have since thirty–two days been unable to decide on rudimentary
appointments such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief
of Staff to the President, ministers and his demand for 15 Special
Advisers as approved by the PDP controlled Seventh Assembly since June 5, 2015.
Even the very little
intervention made on appointments such as those of the Accountant General of
the Federation (AGF) and the Acting Chairman of INEC, have not shown our
beloved President as an evenhanded and patriotic leader resulting in the
confusion and crisis of confidence that have trailed the two appointments.
The PDP is particularly
disturbed by the development in INEC where President Buhari, who knew all along
that the immediate-past INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega would be leaving
office by June 30, had to wait for him to handover to one of the national
commissioners only to reverse it immediately, thereby injecting bad blood in
the commission.
The situation in INEC since
the PDP government reformed and granted it operational autonomy has been
peaceful, but Tuesday’s untidy overruling of Prof. Jega and appointing of Mrs.
Amina Zakari as acting chairman which, we gathered was influenced by personal relationship
with the Presidency and one of the new governors of the North West, ostensibly
to pave the way for the APC at the electoral tribunals, has completely eroded
public trust in the commission.
Whereas the PDP recognizes
the right and powers of the President to appoint the Chairman of INEC and the
Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), we reject attempts as in the case
of the AGF to paint the process as transparent and objective when such was not
the case, but brought to question the sincerity and commitment of the present
administration to due process.
In INEC, the PDP states in
unequivocal terms that we cannot, as critical stakeholders fold our hands and
watch while the Presidency perpetuate actions that diminish the independence of
the electoral commission.
The PDP has declared the
appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as unacceptable and demand that President
Buhari changes her immediately.
Our reasons include the fact
that due process was not observed in the appointment and that Mrs. Zakari has
shown in the last elections that she is manifestly bias in favour of the APC.
Finally her appointment is a clear case of nepotism.
We ask, if they trusted Prof.
Jega and commended him for conducting free and fair elections, why would they
not trust him on who to hold forth in the commission until a substantive
Chairman is appointed, rather than appointing someone who is retiring from the
commission in the next three weeks?
With the prevailing record of
Mr. President on appointments, it is unlikely that a substantive INEC Chairman
will be appointed in the next one year. Is
there a hidden agenda? Has Mrs. Zakari been handed a script to act given that
we have cases in the tribunals in addition to the forthcoming elections in Kogi
and Bayelsa?
Furthermore, the PDP finds it
sycophantic, insincere and the height of deceit for the APC to continue to
deceive President Buhari by parading voodoo achievements and pretending that
all is well with the nation even when it is obvious that the government has not
been able to locate its bearing.
The PDP also finds
unacceptable APC’s continued playing on the intelligence of the people by
dishing out imaginary achievements in the media even when it is evident to all
that the nation is stagnating, a clear indication that the ruling party and the
President lack direction and capacity to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
It is indeed amusing that a
party in power in a press conference on Tuesday claimed progress in the fight
against terrorism when the effort has lost steam in the last thirty-two days with
insurgents, who under the Goodluck Jonathan administration were already at the
verge of surrender in the Sambisa now surging back into the country.
How can a
political party attempt to deceive Nigerians and the President when the economy
has plummeted under their watch with a terrifying crippling of foreign and
domestic investments and the stock market losing over N350 billion because of
the prevailing uncertainty and confusion in the system?
More
astonishing is the fact that a ruling party and a government of a sovereign
nation and strong international voice like Nigeria are parading mere promissory
notes from foreign interests as achievements, instead of settling down to
galvanize resources and potentials that abound in our country.
If by the declaration of the
APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed that President Buhari has
done excellently well thus far, then Nigerians should not expect anything from
this administration.
The PDP as
a responsible political party committed to the national interest, we urge the
APC to henceforth desist from unnecessary propaganda which ought to have ended
with the campaigns, settle down and help the President form a government and
chart a direction for the nation.
Finally, while we restate our
respect for the office and person of the President, the Presidency and the APC
must know that though Nigerians are wiling to give them time to perform, they
are tired of their unfounded excuses of handover notes coming late; of meeting
empty treasury, of clearing the so-called Augean Stable among nuances of other
frivolous claims.
What Nigerians expect today is
a government that will hit the ground running, face the challenges of
governance and commence implementation of its campaign promises.
Signed:
Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary
