The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lampooned President Muhammadu Buhari, saying his address to the nation on Sunday failed to address the real necessities or provide new solutions over the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country.
The PDP said this in a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary, on Sunday.
According to the major opposition political party, the presidential address was empty, claiming that asides the social distancing culture and self-isolation guidelines already being practised by Nigerians, Buhari did not address the salient demands of the pandemic’s impact on the country.
The statement read: “The PDP regrets that the address did not touch on the real necessities of majority of Nigerians who reside in the states where President Buhari had ordered a lockdown.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. President failed to respond to demands on hope for medications, direct social palliatives, cut in taxes as well as reduction in the pump price of fuel even with the cut in the price of petroleum and crude oil in the international market.
“Our party notes as saddening that even in areas where Mr. President announced an ambitious intervention, such remained largely cosmetic as there are no clear palliative content but moratoriums on loans with no clear data for implementation.”
The PDP lamented that Nigerians had to wait for long for a presidential address which did not inspire them or articulate an across-the-board and far-reaching strategy that would have captured the need of each state of the federation.
Alleging that the country has adopted a “parochial approach” to combat the Coronavirus outbreak, the party called on President Buhari to heed the calls of the citizens and reassess the government’s approach to tackle the pandemic.
“President Buhari should, therefore, go back, listen to the nation, retool his policy framework and implementation strategy to properly address the fears as well as the needs of Nigerians, including health safety measures and the real remedies that meet the anxieties of our nation at this critical time,” the statement read.
As at early Monday, Nigeria has recorded 111 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, with one fatality reported.
