Presidency, PDP bicker over Buhari’s first 30 days

The Presidency and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday engaged each other in a war of words over President Muhammed Buhari’s 30 days in office.

The PDP, in his assessment of the President, said the last 30 days had been “30 days of all motion and no movement.”


After a careful evaluation of the first 30 days of Buhari and the All Progressives Congress’ administration, the PDP said it had become obvious that Nigerians should join hands in prayers to save the government from further inaction and dithering.

But the Presidency said Buhari was cleaning the mess left behind by the PDP, especially the immediate-past administration.

It said that the mess cleaning exercise required scrupulous and painstaking planning.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said that the enormity of the confusion surrounding the government and the ruling party in the last one month had make it imperative for Nigerians to pray as the success or failure of the Buhari administration would not only affect the President and his party but the entire nation.

He said, “We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to President 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 centre.

“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, Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the economy.”

Metuh added that the economy was already suffering due to the action and inaction of the President.

Already, he said that the stock market had lost over N238bn while the All-Share Index had fallen by 849.87 basis points as at June 19.

“In security, apart from the directive to relocate the counter-terrorism command centre 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.”

But the Presidency said cleaning the mess left behind by the PDP, especially the immediate past administration, required scrupulous and painstaking planning.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.

The presidential spokesman said across all sectors, national life was devalued under the PDP and it would take meticulousness and sure-footedness to repair all the breaches.

He said, “The Buhari administration is naturally contemplative because there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way PDP ran the country, particularly in the immediate-past dispensation.

“That is why the Augean Stable is being cleaned now, and it requires scrupulous and painstaking planning.

“Across all sectors, our national life was devalued, and it takes meticulousness and sure-footedness to repair all the breaches. This, the Buhari administration will deliver.”

Adesina described the PDP’s 30 days appraisal of the Buhari administration as amusing.

He said Nigerians were hands in hands, saying that was what gave victory to Buhari in the March 28, 2015 poll.

He said they had teamed up to uproot an administration that had brought the country to her knees, and was about to tip her off the precipice, adding that they also resolved that never would they allow any government to divide them along regional, religious and ethnic fault lines again.

He added that the enormity of the sleaze involving officials of the immediate-past PDP regime would be evident when stolen money, to the tune of billions of dollars, was recovered, and returned to the national treasury soon.

“In the process of time, after all that is being planned by the current administration has matured, and bearing fruits, Nigerians will be able to determine who is serving them acceptably, and who has taken them for a ride. It is just a matter of time.

“Meanwhile, Metuh and his masters can only rue the missed opportunities to make salutary impact on the lives of Nigerians. They have a long road of regrets to travel,” Adesina concluded.