PDP asks Buhari to accept failure, seeks devolution of powers

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop his blame game and use of hate language against past leaders as cover up for his poor performance.

It said rather than keep passing the buck, Buhari should be brave enough to accept responsibility for the nation’s economic hardship and escalated insecurity his administration has caused Nigerians in spite of the huge resources at government’s disposal.

In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan yesterday, the party lamented that it was sad that President Buhari does not have a single development project initiated and implemented by his administration in any part of the country in the last three years.

“Buhari has also failed to fulfill the least of his 2015 campaign promises through which Nigerians were deceived to vote him into office.

“Now that he has failed, one wonders what other false promises the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) will anchor their 2019 campaign and elections on,” the statement reads.

The PDP added that it was tragic and regrettable that instead of being remorseful, the Buhari Presidency finds it convenient to engage in endless blame game, attempts to appropriate PDP projects and programmes, and giving false performance indices ahead of its three years anniversary on May 29.

“Worst still, President Buhari finds solace in commissioning projects executed by other leaders, like the commissioning of a regular bus station constructed by the Lagos State government and a borehole in Jigawa State, which show crass failure of governance,” it added.

Meanwhile, former National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has canvassed devolution of more powers to the states to enhance the country’s productive capacity and put it on a path of economic development.

He argued that devolution of power has become more imperative because Nigerians were afraid of restructuring and the current arrangement was stagnating the economic emancipation of the federating states.

Olawepo-Hashim, who spoke at a Public Lecture at the Post Graduate College, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, said there was bright prospect for Nigeria given its enormous human and natural resources.

He said an agenda was clearly possible not just for the country’s all-round development, but transformation for generations yet unborn.

At the event chaired by the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, he agreed that although slight progress has been made since the advent of democracy in Nigeria between 1999-2015, the nation still remained largely underdeveloped.