PDP Urges Nigerians To Pray For Buhari

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has called on Nigerians
to please pray for the president saying it has become necessary given the fact
that the administration is finding it difficult to locate its bearing not to
think of taking off and facing the challenges of governance. PDP made the
statement today through its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh. Find it after the cut.

“We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful
suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC because with what we have
seen in the last 30 days, the present administration is finding it very
difficult to get its bearings right while showing no inclination towards
implementing its numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into
office at the center.

“We are deeply worried that the President who promised to
unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to
decide on key appointments such as ministers, Secretary to the Government of
the Federation (SGF), a Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the
economy.

“This is more so as the delay has brought government
business in ministries, departments and agencies to a dangerous standstill with
coordination of important policies vested on ministers and the SGF now in
tatters while the system drifts. This situation also creates loopholes through
which overzealous persons around that President can connive with unscrupulous
elements in the bureaucracy to syphon public resources in addition to possibly
misleading the President to violate due process by spending beyond and outside
his statutory limits.

“The situation is taking its toll on the economy sector,
which has in the 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying
crippling of foreign and domestic investments including activities in the money
and capital market sectors. Under President Buhari, the stock market has lost
over N238 billion while the All-Share Index fell by 849.87 basis points as at
June 19.

“In security, apart from the directive to relocate the
counter terrorism command center to Borno state and seeking assistance from
foreigners, no other concrete step has been taken in the fight against
insurgency which the President in his April 22, 2015 CNN interview promised to
end within his two months in office.

“Instead, the anti-terrorism effort has completely lost
steam in the last 30 days, with insurgents, who had already been pushed to the
verge of surrender in the Sambisa forest by the Goodluck Jonathan
administration, now surging back and spreading into the country.

“In this regard, we urge the President to confront
insurgency and issues of national security with all the vigour they deserve
while calling for restrain from actions capable of destroying the fabrics of
security intelligence. We also urge for adequate respect for all organs of
internal security such as the Directorate of State Security (DSS), which is
answerable to the Nigerian state and as such should not be publicly ridiculed
by an aide of the President.

“In the same vein, we are disturbed by the ominous signals
emanating from the atrocious attempt by the APC to undermine and appropriate
the federal legislature resulting in the disruption of lawful proceedings and
forced closure of the National Assembly, the symbol of our collective national
identity as a democratic state. In this direction, we urge the Presidency and
the APC to imbibe democratic tenets and respect the independence of that arm of
government.

“Finally, while we remind the President and the APC that
their campaign promises are bonds which must be fulfilled, we urge him to use
the next ten days to set up his government by naming his ministers, the SGF and
advisers in critical sectors as Nigerians did not vote for a sole administrator
but for a democratic government”.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh

National Publicity Secretary