PDP Spites Buhari’s Speech As Anticlimax

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast to the nation as a monumental anticlimax, saying the President missed an opportunity to calm restiveness and frayed nerves among the citizenry.

In a statement, last night, signed by the party’s Head of Publicity, Chinwe Nnorom on behalf of the National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said the speech failed to inspire confidence in the people.

According to the PDP, the President’s speech failed to inspire confidence, despite the fact that Nigerians were expectantly looking forward to a robust speech that could imbue confidence in the capacity of the government to take on the challenges of governance.

“However, rather than rekindle that hope and confidence, that speech delivered earlier this morning can most charitably be described as a monumental anticlimax.

“The President and his handlers missed a golden opportunity to reconnect with the people through addressing issues that have direct bearing to their well-being and those of their children and dependents.

“Indeed, the President’s speech did not contain anything new; just a rehash of statements that already had been made by both government and various leaders of thought across the country.

“The PDP had cause to commend the then Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo for going around the country to engage with relevant stakeholders, which certainly was a better approach.

“The PDP believes that rather than rehashing the worn out clichés about Nigeria’s unity not being negotiable, Nigerians would have loved to hear their President come out definitively to tell them what realistic measures his government intended to take to uproot the causes of perennial agitations and counter agitations that are now becoming a recurring decimal in our national discourse.

“The party believes that instead of always mouthing the indivisibility of this country, the government should be seen walking the talk by instilling confidence in all the people across the board that it belongs to all.

“The casual mention of ‘elements of Boko Haram’, kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes’ etc, were also somewhat on the perfunctory side and do not imbue confidence”, the statement added.

The PDP observed that the President returned to the country in a week that saw the closure of all public universities as a result of the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

“Yet, not even a whimper from our President. Has the future of the future leaders of our country sunk so low in the estimation of our current leaders that the issue was considered not important enough to command a mention in the President’s address?

“To this end, the PDP once again welcomes the President back home and continues to pray for his total recovery as well as God’s guidance.

“But we believe Nigerians deserve a richer statement from a President that was away from them for more than a hundred days during which a lot happened that should have elicited more than a mention in that speech”.