The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the Democracy Day address
by President Muhammadu Buhari as uninspiring, hollow, full of
self-praise and false performance claims, without addressing issues
agitating the minds of Nigerians.
The address, which is the worst since President Buhari took office in
2015, was garnished with a list of phantom projects and executive
regurgitations, inherently designed by his handlers to sway Nigerians
and divert attention from the many failures of this administration.
The few Nigerians who bordered to listen to the address were miffed
that, in the most insensitive manner, Mr. President failed to show the
littlest empathy to millions of citizens groaning under the worst form
of poverty, starvation and economic hardship occasioned by his misrule.
President Buhari’s aloofness to the plight of Nigerians is manifest in
all the lines of the speech.
In fact, no line in the supposed Democracy Day Address had any
inclination towards justice for victims of abuse of human rights,
reported executive high-handedness, illegal arrests and detentions,
extra-judicial executions as well as victims of killings and daily
bloodletting in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Kaduna,Plateau, Borno, Kogi,
Yobe and other parts of the country, by insurgents and marauders.
Mr. President, on Democracy Day, had no words of assurance on the
unrelenting violation of our constitution; assault on the National
Assembly and erosion of personal freedom of citizens.
The President said nothing on the humonguous corruption going on under
his administration, where APC leaders and cabal at the Presidency have
stolen over N10 trillion, mainly from a sector under his direct
supervision.
PDP also notes the fact that the President had no committing words
towards the conduct of free, fair and credible 2019 general elections,
apparently overwhelmed by the avalanche of his public rejection ahead of
the polls.
Incredibly, Mr. President’s handlers chose to subject him to a fantasy
trip, making false performance claims with phantom projects, muddling up
economic statistics and ended up worsening his already diminished public
perception.
This is exactly why the PDP had earlier advised President Buhari not to
border to address Nigerians on Democracy Day.
The PDP notes that Nigerians have reached a consensus that the 2018
Democracy Day celebration is the last for the Buhari Presidency and the
APC. Our citizens have endured under the misrule of the APC, keeping
their hopes in the 2019 elections to get back our democracy on the
platform of the repositioned PDP.
In solidarity with Nigerians, the National Working Committee of the PDP
has already held a meeting where it reviewed the circumstances and will
formally address Nigerians on the issues of misrule of our nation in the
last three years.
