The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the APC Presidential
candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari cannot boast of any development
project in any sector of the economy during his regime as head of state.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement on Monday
said, when juxtaposed with the performance of President Goodluck
Jonathan’s democratically elected government, it becomes clear that
“Buhari is not and cannot be a match for President Jonathan”.
The ruling party said General Buhari failed because he lacked the
capacity and the capability to comprehend complex issues at the highest
level of governance.
It said the APC presidential candidate “lacks team spirit, a principal
component of public private partnership critical for national
development, a character his colleagues in the military rejected and
kicked him out of office.”
In a sector by sector juxtaposition of the General Buhari and Jonathan
administrations, the PDP observed that “while Buhari suspended the
constitution and led Nigerians by the nose, President Jonathan exhibited
excellent democratic credentials by enhancing the rule of law wherein
Nigerians, including Buhari now relish all kinds of personal freedoms
which he denied the citizens during his rule.”
The party recalled that while Buhari enacted the Military Decree 4 of
1984 with which he abolished the freedom of the press, President
Goodluck Jonathan not only signed into law the Freedom of Information
Act to, but also consolidate the rule of law in the country
Whilst the Buhari administration carried out extrajudicial killing of
innocent Nigerians using widely condemned retroactive law, President
Jonathan has never trampled on the rights of any Nigerian, instead he
has remained sincere, humble and calm despite all unwarranted
provocations.
“On education, General Buhari never built a single school during his
regime as head of state and never cared for the educational advancement
of any part of the country including the north. On the other hand,
President Jonathan revamped the education sector, established 14 new
universities in two years, revitalized the Unity Schools, initiated the
Back To School Programme, established the Almajiri System of Education
for the progress of hitherto neglected children from the north, an
innovation General Buhari never thought of, among others.
“Under Buhari, no effort was made to revitalize the railways as an
instrument of mass transport in the country. Instead, General Buhari, on
account of he famed parochial and sectional nature, scrapped the Lagos
Metroline Project at a loss of over $78 million to the Lagos taxpayer.
On his own part, President Jonathan has revived the railways. Today, our
trains are back, ferrying passengers and goods along various routes
across the country. The case is the same in the road sector, which was
also neglected by General Buhari as head of state but now being
transformed by President Jonathan.
“On health, while General Buhari neither initiated nor executed any
project in this sector that has direct bearing on the welfare of
Nigerians, President Jonathan has repositioned this sector through a
meticulous implementation of his National Strategic Health Development
Plan (2010-2015).
“Nigerians now have access to better and affordable health care with new
technologies that have better positioned our hospitals to handle medical
emergencies and disease control using international best practices and
cost-effective interventions.
“Also while Buhari did nothing to enhance the power sector, President
Jonathan successful unbundling of the power sector with polices that
encouraged massive private sector investment for greater productivity.
The speedy completion and commissioning of key power stations including
the Geregu Power Project in Kogi state, Omotosho 2 Power Station in Ondo
as well as huge investments in other power plants across the country.
The projects are there. The facts speak for themselves.
“In the same vein, the APC Presidential candidate cannot boast of any
investment in agriculture. Today, with the unique interventions by
President Jonathan, Nigeria’s food import has declined by USD5.3 billion
between 2013 and 2014 even with our increasing population. Our nation
now ranks as one of the biggest food producers in Africa with our food
production expanding by an additional 21 million metric tons between
2011 and 2014, a record exceeding the nation’s set target of 20 million
metric tons set for 2015.
“Furthermore, while Buhari failed in ensuring the productivity of the
manufacturing sector, the Jonathan administration has repositioned the
sector while creating enabling environment for private businesses to
thrive. Today, the neglected automobile sector has been revived and cars
are now being manufactured in our country as a result of the New
Automobile Policy initiated by President Jonathan.
“On security, we wish to remind General Buhari that Nigerians are still
waiting for him to show them the investment he made in enhancing the
military and security agencies which suffered the worst type of
deprivation under him. This sector has now been re-equipped by President
Jonathan to effectively confront the security challenges facing our
country.
Stating that Nigerians are more prosperous under Jonathan, the PDP
recalled that the nation’s economy now ranks as the largest in Africa as
against the situation under General Buhari. The party insisted that
“what the nation needs now is not a return to the “dark days”, but to
continue with President Jonathan and his Transformation Agenda for the
benefit of all.