Members of the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives have accused President Muhammadu Buhari of hiding the true situation of Nigeria while addressing world leaders at the 76th United Nations General Assembly in Newyork on Friday.
In a statement on Saturday by the House Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, the Caucus stated that,after extensively reviewing the President’s address, it was distressed over his claims which are in complete disagreement with the ugly reality of the failures of his administration.
It said, the failures were; economic, security and the social ruins that have confronted the nation under his watch.
“Our caucus holds that President Buhari’s speech is a great disservice to our nation by not presenting the true picture of affairs in our country; the human rights violations, corruption and incompetence in his administration; the excruciating hardship, escalated insecurity, national divisiveness and infrastructural decay under his watch, thereby blocking avenues for desired intervention in our various ailing sectors.
“Our caucus holds that President Buhari’s speech is a great disservice to our nation by not presenting the true picture of affairs in our country; the human rights violations, corruption and incompetence in his administration; the excruciating hardship, escalated insecurity, national divisiveness and infrastructural decay under his watch, thereby blocking avenues for desired intervention in our various ailing sectors,” it stated.
The Caucus stated that, it was alarmed by President Buhari’s report to UNGA that terrorists have been so weakened in Nigeria that they are now preying on soft targets.
“When in reality, insurgents have become so emboldened under his watch, that they are now attacking military formations, kidnapping and killing our gallant officers while overrunning communities and murdering our citizens without restrain,” it added.
The lawmakers posited that, as representatives of the people, they are depressed that President Buhari’s speech did not reflect on the kidnapping and killing of students and school children in Nigeria.
“The speech did not reflect on the closure of schools and crippling of education in many parts of our country, where normal life has been destroyed by terrorists, neither did it show any empathy towards the victims of terrorism attacks,” they added.
The Caucus further stated that, the president also failed to convey personal commitments that can guarantee an end to poor and undemocratic governance, human rights abuses, poverty, ignorance, injustice and inequalities, which are prevalent under his watch, even after identifying such as the causes of conflicts.
“The minority caucus is shocked by the claims in Mr. President’s speech that his administration “built” isolation centers and emergency hospital wards, “all over the country” “in record time” in the fight against Covid-19; a claim that is in conflict with the infrastructural reality in the country.
“Moreover, our caucus is worried that Mr. President’s speech did not portray any decisive roadmap towards economic recovery and food security; had no personal commitment to end corruption in his administration; had no personal commitment to end borrowing or show a clear-cut plan to repay the huge debt being accumulated by his administration.
“The speech also lacked definite personal commitments towards credible electoral process especially as the nation approaches 2023 general election,” the lawmakers added.
It further disclosed that, after due consideration, it urges President Buhari to always cross check the content given to him by his handlers so as to ensure that his position, especially on the world stage, captures the reality as well as aspiration prevalent in the country.
“This is because such addresses ought to serve as unblemished working document for interventions and solutions at various levels of governance,” it added.
