PDP Tells Buhari to Apologise to Nigerians over 'Mismanagement of COVID-19 Pandemic'

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerians over the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Mr. President should apologize to Nigerians for his failures, which have worsened the pandemic situation. He should also account for the billions of naira, which his government claimed to have spent, particularly, on palliatives," the opposition party said in a statement of Sunday. 

In the last two months, Nigeria has recorded 2,388 cases of the disease which originated from Wuhan in China. 

In the statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, the PDP begged Nigerians not to resign to fate and jeopardize their lives following President Muhammadu Buhari's failure to find direction in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in our country despite the huge resources at his disposal.

It encouraged the citizenry to intensify their personal and community protection strategies, seeing that the Buhari-led Federal Government has reached its wits end and has no plans to rescue Nigerians from the throes of this pandemic.

The Nigeria's biggest opposition party however alleged that the Buhari Presidency and its incompetent Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID- had compounded the situation by "crippling the economy after which they are now leaving Nigerians to their fate without providing any therapeutic or operable containment strategy to stem the rising spread and fatalities of COVID-19 in our country." 

"The PDP says it is disheartening that officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Government are more interested in TV shows, self-praise, photo-ops, corrupt diversion of palliatives as well as needless political parochialism at the expense of the lives of Nigerians," 

"Our party notes that the inept leadership of Buhari Presidency failed to engage our indigenous medical experts and manufacturers for home grown solutions in therapeutics, test kits and ventilators; leading to an avoidable spike of the pandemic in our country," the statement read. 

According to the party, President Buhari's lockdown order failed because Mr. President failed to address the corruption in his administration that scuttled the distribution of necessary palliatives to most of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians, whose survival depended on daily income from the streets.

Recall that a cessation of movement was imposed in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States for over a month. 

However, Mr Buhari had announced a gradual relaxation of the lockdown following outcry of the masses whose means of livelihood were put on hold during the period. 

Reacting to the relaxation, the PDP said: "It is even unimaginable that the Buhari Presidency is releasing Nigerians into the streets without any comprehensive fumigation of major streets, shopping malls, offices and other public places in cities like Abuja and Lagos despite the huge resources it claimed to be spending on this pandemic.

"Furthermore, President Buhari has failed to make provisions for post lockdown stimulus for compatriots whose businesses have been crippled and are now in dire need of refinancing.

The Federal Government's approach to this pandemic is akin to a father, whose compound have been invaded by hordes of monsters, ordered his children to stay indoors without food and other supplies, only to engage in grandstanding after which he opened the doors for his children to confront the increased army of monsters on empty stomachs, without protection or weaponry," Mr Ologbodiyan stated. 

The PDP then challenged Mr Buhari to declare the investment it had made in production of therapeutic and equipment, despite its spending claims vis-a-vis the availability of experts in many tertiary institutions of our country.