The PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr Diran Odeyemi, and the coalition’s national spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere, said this in separate interviews with our correspondents on Friday.
Ugochinyere asked the President to stay back in the country and tackle Nigeria’s challenges, especially the spate of insecurity across the country.
He said, “The President has spent over one year out of the period he was elected to govern the country outside Nigeria.
“After the travels to different parts of the world, poverty level is still rising and killings have now become more rampant in Nigeria.”
Odeyemi, in his remarks, said, “A review of several foreign trips of President Buhari indicated a complete waste of the country’s resources as against his promise to block unwarranted foreign expenditures.
“He broke his promise to equip hospitals in Nigeria towards putting a stop to foreign trips for medical reasons by spending hundreds of days in London hospital, receiving treatment. Has our hospital been equipped up till now? NO.”
We’re proud to see him travel, attract investments, says APC
But the ruling All Progressives Congress said on Friday that the President’s foreign trips had been beneficial to the country.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the party was proud to see Buhari go out to attract investments.
He said, “Absolutely, the President’s travels have been beneficial. Beyond the issue that was beyond him which was the issue of health and we thank God he has overcome that, we believe that more than any President before him, all his trips have been targeted at things that are crucial to the development of this country.
“We do not think it is about the number of days he had travelled but about the purpose of his travels and the benefits the country is deriving from the trips. I think the President should be commended for not embarking on frivolous trips.”
Buhari should prioritise fixing economy, constituting cabinet
–SERAP, CACOL
Two civil society organisations, the Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project and the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership on Friday asked Buhari to focus early on fixing the economy for the betterment of Nigerians.
The SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “Setting the agenda for the President, I want to remind him that the welfare and happiness of the majority of Nigerians is the primary responsibility of the government. The economy is key and the government must do all within its powers to give this a top priority.”
Also, the CACOL Director, Mr Debo Adeniran, noted that President Buhari must hit the ground running, as there were no excuses for any lapses in his second tenure.
He said, “Despite the medical trips, what should not be lacking in the President is the art of governance. The government has to run efficiently even when the President is not in the country, if he has set principles and systems on the ground.”
Buhari’s trips have not benefitted Nigeria –SMBLF
Meanwhile, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has flayed the President’s frequent foreign trips, stating that the nation is yet to benefit from them.
The SMBLF spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, advised the President to stay at home and address the challenges facing the country, adding that Nigeria had declined in all indices of development and growth.
Odumakin cited the growing insecurity, noting that bandits were having free rein in various parts of the country, including in Katsina, the President’s home state.
He stated, “Buhari’s foreign trips have mostly been jamborees. Look at the indices: Between 2014 and now, Nigeria has become worse off. We have declined in foreign direct investment.
“From the report by Bloomberg, we were five in 2014, now we have dropped to two. Unemployment rate was six per cent in 2014, today it is 23 per cent; Inflation rate was eight in 2014, today it is 11.
“Debt to the GDP was 12 in 2014, today, it is 25; Our debt portfolio was 12 per cent, but today, it is 24.6 per cent. So what benefits have these trips accrued to us? We do not know.”
President’s long stay abroad unhealthy
–Junaid Mohammed
A Second Republic lawmaker, Dr Juniad Mohammed , has said it is unhealthy for a President to stay away from his country for the equivalent of 25 per cent of his term.
He said, “The President staying more than 300 days out of the country cannot be good news for any nation in dire need of development; there are sufficient issues in the country to keep the president on his seat.’’
On his part, elder statesman and Presidential Liaison Officer during the Second Republic, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said he had no quarrel with the President travelling to attend to his health because it was a necessity.
He, however, said, “If somebody can rule a country for almost four years promising change and the only change is for the worse, I wonder what will follow. We still don’t have a budget for 2019 and the first quarter is almost gone. Now, they are promising Next Level, I wonder what can be achieved within the next three years since the final year is an election year.”
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