COVID-19: PDP says Buhari’s incompetence, backseat governance destroying Nigeria

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of destroying Nigeria with his ‘incompetence’ and ‘backseat’ style of governance.

The party stated this on Sunday, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.

It said “the manifest incompetence of the Buhari Presidency as well as President Muhammadu Buhari’s lack of visibility and failure to personally lead from the front are responsible for the failure to check the spread of COVID-19 in our country.”

The party further lamented that the alarming increase in infection and mortality rates in Nigeria would have been curtailed if the nation had a competent, proactive and transparent leadership with the capacity to articulate a quick national response to the pandemic.

It noted that the situation had been worsened by “greedy and corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and the cabal in the Presidency, who are cashing in on President Buhari’s ineffectiveness to pillage resources meant for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in our country.”

The opposition party described as distressing that since the outbreak of the pandemic in Nigeria, “Mr. President had not demonstrated the desired visibility; addressed the nation only thrice (each time, after much prodding), after which he had remained out of public visibility, leading to lack of effective coordination of the fight against the pandemic.

Moreover, President Buhari has failed to act on wise suggestions by well-meaning Nigerians, particularly on administration of palliatives and production of homegrown therapeutics.

“Since the third recorded broadcast, Mr. President had receded into the safety of the Aso Presidential Villa, leaving his inept aides to continue to issue disjointed claims and uncoordinated directives,” the party said.

It, therefore, called on Nigerians to note that President Buhari’s failure to make himself visible and personally lead from the front had resulted in the failure to develop a strong all-inclusive and seamless national response against the pandemic; leading to diverse responses by various states and a consequent spike in spread and mortality rates.

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“President Buhari had woefully failed to spur and lead a strong teamwork of federal, state governments and the organized private sector for a proactive response that would have checked the spread of the pandemic in our country,” it added.

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