Press Statement
…Says Mr. President Should Apologise in Fresh New Year Speech
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Muhammadu Buhari
should withdraw his unnecessary remark in his new year message about
“standing down” in 2023, as he and his party, the All Progressives
Congress (APC), would have no other option than to exit office at the
end of this tenure.
The party described President Buhari’s new year message as completely
uninspiring, tasteless, repetitive, vacuous and does not galvanize any
form of hope for a despairing nation like ours.
The PDP holds that Mr. President should have the courage to issue a
fresh new year message to show remorse for the corruption, incompetence
and misrule of his administration as well as admonish his disintegrating
APC against its crass insincerity, violence and divisive machinations
that have brought so much pain, anguish and despondency to our nation.
Indeed, President Buhari should stop presenting a picture as if he has
the option to continue in office beyond 2023.
The PDP holds, in total submission to the letter and spirit of the 1999
Constitution (as amended), that it is not an issue of “standing down” or
not being “available” for future election, but a decided and inevitable
position as contained in our constitution that he must quit office after
two terms which will end in 2023.
Mr. President, therefore, does not have any other choice before the law.
Whether President Buhari likes it or not, he and his APC will exit the
arena at the end of this tenure. History is replete with lessons from
those who sought to stretch our nation beyond her limits.
Moreover, President Buhari and his extinguishing APC ought to have known
by now that Nigerians have moved ahead and cannot wait to see them go.
The citizens are no longer swayed by empty promises and false
performance indices as replete in Mr. President’s new year message.
Our party restates that President Buhari should therefore end this
showboating by issuing a fresh new year message to demonstrate a
commitment to electoral reforms by returning the 8th Assembly Electoral
Act amendment bill, which he refused to sign, to the National Assembly
without any further delay.
He should also be prepared to waste no time in signing the bill into law
when retooled to meet current exigencies and passed by the current
National Assembly.
President Buhari should also order the immediate prosecution of his
party leaders who perpetrated violence in the 2019 general election as
well as the governorship elections in Ekiti, Osun, Bayelsa and Kogi
States where APC used thugs and compromised security agents to unleash
mayhem and killed innocent compatriots who came out to perform their
civic responsibility at the polls.
Mr. President should apologise for the violation of human rights,
attacks on institutions of democracy, disobedience to court orders and
constitutional violations under his administration as well as order an
immediate investigation and prosecution of all those who played roles in
these ugly episodes.
Furthermore, the PDP charges President Buhari to use the opportunity of
a fresh New Year Message to apologise for his administration’s failure
to secure the nation and for plunging our country into a biting economic
recession occasioned by the incompetence, corruption and unbridled
treasury looting in his government which led to the degrading of our
nation from one of the world’s fastest growing economies to world’s
poverty capital with an excruciating unemployment rate, decayed
infrastructure and accumulated $83 billion debt.
Such course of humility in showing remorse, seeking help and getting
competent hands to manage our economy and security system should be the
legacy which Mr. President is expected to pursue without which history
cannot be kind to his administration and his APC.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
