President Muhammadu Buhari has rated Senate President Bukola Saraki and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara low on the patriotism index, blaming them squarely for the delay in the signing of the 2019 budget bill into law.
“I told Saraki and Dogara that by holding the budget for seven months, you’re not hurting me, you’re hurting Nigerians? In terms of patriotism, I rate them very very low,” Buhari said in an interview on television on Monday night.
“ I feel very bad indeed. NASS to hold the Budget for seven months,“ he added.
But the interview, among others, is drawing flaks from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Self-styled political activist and former spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has also joined the fray.
The PDP says the President’s Muhammadu Buhari’s resort to blame game and false performance claims has further confirmed that the last four years of his administration smacks of failure and incompetence.
The party also indicted President Buhari for not using his orchestrated interview to give account for the trillions stolen under his watch in the last four years.
The PDP position on Buhari’s administration on Tuesday notwithstanding, the President promised to reform the judiciary and the Police.
In his exclusive interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) said:
“Police and judiciary are to be in frontline of law and order. They should be able to know the offender in their communities.
“What the government needs to do is to provide the basic need. People should try to expose criminals in their communities”.
Watch the NTA Interview Session
The PDP noted that it was unfortunate that instead of accepting responsibility for the failures of his administration, the President was looking for scapegoats where there are none.
The PDP also observed that President Buhari’s diatribe against the National Assembly and its elected leadership confirmed his disdain for constitutional democracy, rule of law and the Principle of Separation of powers as entrenched in our constitution.
“Mr President’s personal attacks on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, were totally uncalled for and speak volumes on his disposition about democracy.
“Moreover, President Buhari should end his showboating on the war against corruption. He must admit that he failed because his administration, which swims in ocean of corruption, cannot fight corruption. This is an administration which thrives in concealment; under which over N14 trillion belonging to Nigerians have been frittered by officials, who have not been investigated or prosecuted”.
The party lamented the escalation of insurgency, bloodletting, kidnapping and other forms of violent acts in various parts of our nation under Buhari’s watch adding that the President had no “soothing words for millions of compatriots who have been subjected to the worst form of economic and social misery under his incompetent and corrupt administration”.
Timi Frank called on President Buhari to take responsibility for his colossal failure to make any positive impact in the last years.
He called on Buhari “to stop his blame games and face reality for once and apologize to Nigerians for leading a calamitous regime of pain and penury”.
“Blame your lethargy, flip-flops and incompetence for your failure, not Saraki and Dogara,” Frank said.
He added: “It is you the people elected as President to exercise executive powers and not Saraki and Dogara whose duties are to supervise the passage of legislations.
“Any leader who completely abdicates responsibility for his action or inaction cannot by any stretch of imagination be said to be a good leader. If at the twilight of a four year tenure Mr. President is shopping for new scapegoats, At what point would he realize that its was under his government that Nigeria became the poverty capital of the world?
“How many jobs has this administration created for our teaming unemployed youths. It is unfortunate that Nigerians got a man whose archaic policies and personal ineptitude led a once thriving economy into a tail spin and perpetual downward slide.
“It is further regrettable that Buhari who claims to be a man of integrity has failed all integrity indicators in leadership and personal character of being true to self.
“Only last week, the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) alerted Nigerians that will soon resume its suspended strike following the refusal of the Buhari to honour agreement it reached with the union early this year.”
Frank said it is on record that under President Buhari all budgets were presented in late December and for the last four years budget performance has remained a woeful 25 to 30 per cent while the appropriated amounts are brazenly stolen without consequence.
“Only recently, Buhari’s wife, Aisha, cried out that the N500billion Social Intervention Programme was never implemented, even as there are no mosquito nets to show for a scandalous sum of N16billion set aside for that purpose. Is the SIP being implemented by Saraki and Dogara or the aides of the President?”
“It is on record that Buhari refuses to sign several bills passed by the 8th National Assembly like the Electoral Act, Proceeds of Crime Bill, Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, etc, that would have impacted positivity on the nation’s electoral system, the fight against corruption and the petroleum sector respectively,” Frank declared. “Why engage in blame game when you cannot discern quality minds nor fathom a brilliant and workable idea even if it were to come from perceived political opponents?
“It is clear that the achievements of Buhari in the last four years remain gargantuan propaganda, poverty, suicides and comatose economy for which he has not stopped to blame the 16 year rule of the opposition party.
“I also believe that Buhari has nothing in stock for Nigerians in the next four years, reason he has shifted his pastime of blame for failure to Saraki and Dogara.
“If anything, the unbridled corruption in Buhari’s administration and the thieving aides around him should be held responsible for his unabashed failures.
“Is it not laughable that “Baba Go Slow” has got people to blame for the snail speed of his government?
“A President whose district head was kidnapped and whose Emirate Council since has suspended the celebration of the this year’s Eid-el-Fitri as a result of insecurity is blaming Saraki and Dogara for his cluelessness.
“Buhari as a retired General is blaming the police and community leaders for widespread banditry, kidnappings and general insecurity in the country. Haba!”