Voice of Nigeria’s Director-General, Mr Osita Okechukwu says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a principal beneficiary of President Buhari’s continuity trademark.
He stated this while expressing displeasure at PDP’s dismissal of President Buhari’s promise on continuity after he returned from his medical check-up.
According to him, one cannot like PDP dismiss offhand the hunger and poverty, banditry, killings, kidnapping, and Boko Haram insurgency in the land; “However one cannot either dismiss offhand the fine points of President Buhari’s regime, which whoever takes over in 2023 must as a matter of urgent necessity continue.
“For us Buharist, we must candidly agree that some unforced errors were made; however our continuity trademark in many spheres of public affairs are unbeatable. And PDP is the main beneficiary. To turn round now to clean mouth and condemn Mr President is unconscionable and height of ingratitude. Banditry, Herdsmen/Farmers clashes, kidnapping and insurgency will sooner than later not only abate but vanish.” Okechukwu said.
He explained that the fine points of continuity which Mr President bequeathed the PDP as a principal beneficiary is the over 1,000 Board appointments which tenure was not concluded adding that in 1999, PDP sacked all Board members and made appointments of their members.
“On this issue, opinion was divided, some of us canvased that Mr President should dissolve all the Boards to make room for APC members and supporters and Buhari said an emphatic no. These PDP Board appointees were not only beneficiaries but more or less adulterated our transparency manifesto.
“Point two, all the federal contracts, most remarkable is over 1,000 federal roads. In this instance once more opinion was divided some argued that the contracts should be revoked and awarded fresh as contracts, Mr President said an emphatic no.
“In 1999, PDP revoked nearly all Petroleum Trust Fund ongoing contracts and made a bazaar of the exercise. One of the casualties was the Enugu Urban Water Scheme; which was callously awarded to Chinese instead of Strabag of Germany which designed the project. It failed and today scarcity of water in Enugu is the outcome.
“PDP became the beneficiary when Mr President started paying the contractors some of whom their monies were embezzled by the PDP in what turned out to be dubbed the locust years when oil sold above $100 per barrel.
“Point three, was the much mangled and manipulated Privatisation program; where State-Owned Enterprises were auctioned off. Even Ministerial and Legislative quarters were sold. In this instance, opinion was once divided and Mr President maintained his continuity standard. The bad side of the PDP Privatisation program was that the accounting process was less than transparent.
Point four is Buhari’s Agrarian Revolution #BUGREV. In #BUGREV, Mr President has invested heavily to make us produce what we eat, therefore has demonstrated that every square meter of land in Nigeria is fertile for one crop or the other.
“Like or hate Mr President, no rational and patriotic Nigerian will dismiss the ideas that #BUGREV, a program aimed at rural Agro-Industrialization will not continue. Luckily, the beneficiaries are across the board, multi-partisan and non-partisan inclusive. One stands to be contradicted.
“Point five, is the Executive Order 10, an Order Mr President primarily signed to give life to Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
According to Mr Okechukwu, Executive Order 10 has the primary aim to advance the frontiers of democracy at the state level, curb the excesses of governors who rule more or less like Emperors.
“For Buhari’s traducers, they ignored this incremental restructuring and never gave him credit in this landmark amendment. The outcome of the conspiracy against Buhari is the nationwide strike by legislative and judiciary workers. Only the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics will compute the huge cost of the nationwide strike, which grounded our democracy.
“Accordingly, the Continuity trademark of Mr President is legendary and too numerous to mention here for want of space. Albeit, suffice it to posit that it’s unconscionable for the PDP the main beneficiary of this uncommon standard to turn round and condemn these laudable trademarks.
“In sum, the re-energise statement by my great party the APC is genuine; PDP should therefore rest assured that, unlike the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of PDP stock, who attempted and broached Third Term Agenda, President has not such obnoxious plan.
“PDP should perish such thought and should not insinuate; accordingly my candid appeal is let’s all put propaganda aside and join hands to support the genuine efforts of the federal and state security agencies and the local vigilantes to come over this cliff-hanger-phase,” he added.
PR/PIAK
