Buhari’s broadcast: PDP challenges FG to publish beneficiaries of 2.6 million households, recommends using traditional institutions, others

THE leading opposition party in the country, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast to the nation on Monday in which the lockdown was extended by a second phase of 14 days by the federal government in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states.

Buhari had in the broadcast assured that the number of households for social intervention will be increased by one million households totaling 3.6 million households following the restriction of movements, stating that the adopted measures; cessation of movement, physical distancing measures and the prohibition of mass gatherings remain the most efficient and effective way of reducing the transmission of the virus, and by sustaining them, combined with extensive testing and contact tracing, the nation can take control and limit the spread of the disease.

However, PDP in a reaction to the broadcast through its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan faulted the speech stating that it failed to address salient issues of urgent concerns to Nigerians in their daily struggle against the spread of the plague in our country, though aligned with the extension of the lockdown by the President.

The party emphatically added that as a federal system, the most transparent and fastest approach to reach the people on the social intervention is through the state and local governments using methods like traditional institutions, community leadership and faith-based organizations, and therefore questioned the rationale behind the approaches the federal government claims to have used in the first phase of the lockdown. The statement reads;

“Announcing the expansion of the palliatives scope to 3.6 million households without addressing the failure of the scheme and with no parameter to showcase the declared expansion is an encouragement of the corrupt system that has been depriving Nigerians.

The party challenges Mr. President to disprove Nigerians by publishing documents showing beneficiaries of the claimed 2.6 million household social intervention, and the benefiting communities.

 “The party expressed sadness that Mr. President again failed to show leadership and displayed total lack of touch with reality as he failed to give any hope on palliatives to the ordinary Nigerians as the face hunger and economic pangs of the lockdown.

“It is more painful that President Buhari could not address the immediate needs of the people or provide a trajectory that will take care of their future.

“Nigerians expected Mr. President to directly address the established failures of his palliatives distribution, particularly the provision of funds to the poorest of the poor, which has been marred by allegations of corruption and diversion of funds. This is in addition to allegations of diversion of rice and other food items meant for the poor masses.

“Can Mr. President claim not to be aware that not a handful of Nigerians have received any palliatives and that huge majority of our citizens are complaining that they have not been reached with any panacea despite the administration’s claim of having reached 2.6 million households?” PDP asked.

The party stated that it holds that what have been witnessed in the last two weeks is a total incapacity and fraud by those he has currently charged with the responsibility of taking palliatives to the people adding that it is more painful that President Buhari could not address the immediate needs of the people or provide a trajectory that will take care of their future.

“Instead, Mr. President bored our nation with a rehash of global data already known to Nigerians in addition to promises that are far-flung departures from the harsh realities on the ground.

“Already, there are serious agitations and unrests in Lagos, Ogun and some parts of the FCT where Nigerians, who earn their means of livelihood on daily basis and who have been locked out from their means of subsistence and can no longer withstand the pangs of hunger, are becoming restless.

“Our party still believes that Mr. President needs to quickly retool his approach and adopt an all-encompassing model that will take care of the hunger and deprivations, which this lockdown has imposed on Nigerians.

President Buhari should be forthcoming on what palliatives are accruable, in the immediate, to each state of the federation in this national fight against the pandemic.

“This is because, given our peculiar federal system, we still insist that the fastest approach to reach the people is through the state and local governments using methods like traditional institutions, community leadership and faith-based organizations.

“The party therefore charges President Buhari to reorder his approach to cover the incentives his administration will provide to save the lives and jobs of Nigerians and then address the nation again accordingly”, it stated.