The Presidency has advised the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to stop its pathetic efforts to play down President Muhammadu Buhari’s achievements in his first 100 days in office. Rather, the PDP should bury its head in shame for subjecting Nigeria to the worst economic plunder through corruption in its recent history.
Reacting to a statement issued by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, that the economy is going down under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said the economy of Nigeria was gasping for breath under the egregiously corrupt PDP administration, and that the country was witnessing an acceleration of poverty which united Nigerians for change.
Shehu said that the excruciating hardships experienced by Nigerians under the PDP misrule was unprecedented. “It is ridiculous for any sane government to artificially rebase the economy and claim to transform Nigeria into the largest economy in Africa as the PDP administration did,” he added.
He explained that the defeated former ruling party was artificially manipulating statistics to create the illusion of impressive economic performance record.
The Presidential spokesman said no economy can grow with corruption, an area in which the PDP administration demonstrated more competence.
The presidency said criticism for its own sake is not the hallmark of credible opposition as it maintained that Nigerians no longer face exploitation at filling stations because the government is taking punitive measures against marketers that punish poor Nigerians.
He noted that queues have disappeared at the filling stations, adding that the naira is also enjoying favourable exchange rate.
Shehu said the Buhari administration has successfully blocked leakages and other avenues for corruption, practices which he said the previous PDP administration lacked the will or the desire to stop.
As a result of the measures to block leakages, he said the Buhari administration has frustrated the efforts by corrupt elements to divert public funds to private pockets, Shehu noted.
