The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President
Muhammadu Buhari’s Monday broadcast as a monumental anticlimax, saying the
President missed an opportunity to calm restiveness and frayed nerves among the
citizenry...
A statement last night signed by the party’s Head of
Publicity, Chinwe Nnorom on behalf of the National Publicity Secretary, Prince
Dayo Adeyeye, said the speech failed to inspire confidence in the people.
According to the PDP Nigerians were expectantly looking
forward to a robust speech that could imbue confidence in the capacity of the
government to take on the challenges of governance, but did not get it.
“However, rather than rekindle that hope and confidence,
that speech delivered earlier this morning can most charitably be described as
a monumental anticlimax.
“The President and his handlers missed a golden opportunity
to reconnect with the people through addressing issues that have direct bearing
to their well-being and those of their children and dependents.
“Indeed, the President’s speech did not contain anything
new; just a rehash of statements that already had been made by both government
and various leaders of thought across the country.
“The PDP had cause to commend the then Acting President,
Professor Yemi Osinbajo for going round the country to engage with relevant
stakeholders, which certainly was a better approach.
“The PDP believes that rather than rehashing the worn out
clichés about Nigeria’s unity not being negotiable, Nigerians would have loved
to hear their President come out definitively to tell them what realistic
measures his government intended to take to uproot the causes of perennial
agitations and counter agitations that are now becoming a recurring decimal in
our national discourse.
“The party believes that instead of always mouthing the
indivisibility of this country, the government should be seen walking the talk
by instilling confidence in all the people across board that it belongs to all.
“The casual mention of ‘elements of Boko Haram’,
kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes’ etc, were also somewhat on the
perfunctory side and do not imbue confidence”, the statement added.
The PDP observed that the President returned to the country
in a week that saw the closure of all public universities as a result of the
strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“Yet, not even a whimper from our President. Has the future
of the future leaders of our country sunk so low in the estimation of our
current leaders that the issue was considered not important enough to command a
mention in the President’s address?
“To this end, the PDP once again welcomes the President back
home and continues to pray for his total recovery as well as God’s guidance.
“But we believe Nigerians deserve a richer statement from a
President that was away from them for more than a hundred days during which a
lot happened that should have elicited more than a mention in that speech”
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