The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the statement by President Muhammadu Buhari dismissing the endorsement of their candidate and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, by the South East leaders.
In a statement by Atiku’s campaign organisation on Saturday, the PDP stated that its candidate did not meet with a ‘selected group’ of leaders from the region.
It said, “The PDP Presidential candidate met the entire leadership of the Southeast cutting across political, religious, social and economic lines. He did not pick and choose. He did not ‘select’. He embraced everyone, because Atiku Abubakar is for all Nigerians, all the time.”
Responding to the President’s statement that “Let anybody lead this country but not the PDP,” the party argued that Nigeria was rated the happiest nation on earth more than once while it led the country.
“Alas, under President Buhari’s administration, Nigeria has officially been named as the world headquarters for extreme poverty not once, but twice. Once by the World Poverty Clock and then again by the World Economic Forum,” the PDP added.
“Moreover, most major infrastructure that Nigerians are enjoying today, including the only Federal University in President Buhari’s home state; the Abuja-Kaduna railways; Olorunshogo, Afam and Papalanto power plants; the revived national railway and the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria which has eliminated frequent plane crashes, were all built by PDP administrations.”
The opposition party further reminded President Buhari that Atiku headed the National Economic Council that “paid off Nigeria’s entire foreign debt”, under the leadership of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to it, the nation’s crude oil sold for precisely one-third of what is selling for today.
“President Obasanjo and then Vice President Atiku Abubakar simply paid off the debts piled up by past military administrations, including Buhari’s, without complaining of blaming”, the statement added.
The PDP then called on the Buhari administration to stop blaming the opposition for its own failure to perform.
