Nigerian govt slams PDP over Buhari’s criticism, lists achievements

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Monday, described as absurd, a claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has nothing to campaign with ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mohammed stated this at the second edition of the ”PMB Administration Scorecard 2015-2023,” in Abuja.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Muazu Sambo, was also at the briefing.

The minister berated the PDP for engaging in a deliberate campaign of calumny and falsehood on the achievements of the Buhari administration.

He said: “It is a cruel irony that the party that presided over the affairs of this great country in a time of plenty but could not complete a single modern rail line, is the one accusing an administration that has completed at least three standard gauge rail-lines of lacking in achievements.

“We have a lot of achievements to highlight and campaign with. Indeed, the administration is spoilt for choice because of the sheer number of the achievements.”

He listed some of the projects completed by the government to include the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, and Itakpe-Warri Standard Gauge Rail-lines.

He said the administration inaugurated brand new airport terminals in Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt and had completed housing projects in 35 states across the country.

Mohammed added: “We have constructed or are constructing road projects in every state and we have the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme that has almost weaned us from dependence on imported rice and other crops.

“We met 15 standard rice mills and now we have over 50.

READ ALSO: Nigerians don’t value Buhari’s achievements – Tinubu

“We have our unprecedented National Social Investment Programme under which 9.8 million school children are fed one meal daily, under which one million youths have been empowered.

“Another 500,000 who are undergoing training under the N-Power and the 1,632,480 households that have been enrolled in the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme.

“We are proud of the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure (also known as Deep Blue Asset), aimed at managing, controlling, and protecting Nigerian waterways towards the advancement of coastal prosperity.”

The minister noted that PDP was quick to point to some economic indices like the Naira/dollar exchange rate and inflation to cast aspersion on the government.

He stressed that the major opposition party would have done worse if it was confronted with the challenges like COVID-19 pandemic and economic recessions.

“The truth is that if they were the ones confronted with having to fight a once-in-a-century pandemic, two economic recessions, and low oil prices, Nigeria would have had no economy to even talk about!” he concluded.

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