‘You can’t claim projects you didn’t start’ — PDP hits Buhari over interview

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is wrong for President Muhammadu Buhari to “claim” projects started by previous administrations.

Buhari highlighted some of his administration’s projects in an interview with Arise TV, which was broadcast on Thursday.

However, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s spokesman, in a statement, said Buhari claimed projects which date back to the administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan — both former presidents were elected on the PDP platform.

He added that contrary to Nigerians’ expectations, the president was evasive in his responses to some questions on the country’s challenges.

“Our party is dismayed that while millions of Nigerians eagerly expected President Buhari to use the interview to address salient issues confronting our nation, Mr. President bungled the opportunity by being evasive and dodgy while attempting to lay claims to projects done by PDP administrations,” the statement reads.

“Instead of addressing issues and providing direction for our nation, President Buhari exposed his cluelessness, paucity of ideas for development, while making very provocative comments that could embolden terrorists as well as serve as recipe for further division and violence in the country.

“On infrastructure, it is ludicrous to us in the PDP that Mr. President can disingenuously seek to subtract the deliverables achieved by past PDP administration from his so-called achievement on infrastructure.

“The PDP places it on record and we know that Nigerians are also aware that President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was elected on the platform of the PDP, introduced a 25 years national development plan upon assumption of office in 1999.

“This included the massive construction and expansion of road network, power plants, railways projects, inland and coastal waterways, airports, housing, agricultural and health projects as well as establishment of new universities and other legacy projects in various parts of our country.

“We want to inform President Buhari, since he is not always aware, that successive governments elected on the platform of the PDP built on these development plans leading to the expansion of major trunk roads across our country, railways and other legacy projects which, probably, his handlers are making him to believe are his.

“It is on record that President Goodluck Jonathan also took on a massive expansion of our international and domestic airports across the country, built and commissioned railway stations.

“It is instructive to state that where projects were yet to be completed, it is only a natural occurrence for any Nigerian elected as President to proceed, in the national interest, to complete such projects.

“The PDP therefore considers it tacky for Mr. President to seek to claim any credit for projects he never conceptualised, commenced or built to near completion, just because he found himself in office at the point of completion.

“Should Mr. President be reminded that even the expansion of the Presidential Villa including the Banquet Hall, which his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) uses today as its National Secretariat was conceptualised and built by the PDP government, though leaders of the APC stood stoutly against the project while it was on-going?

“President Buhari also needs to accept the bitter fact that the current drawback in infrastructural development in our country started with his administration. Like a relay race, successive PDP administrations furthered infrastructural development only for him to run the opposite direction when the baton was passed to him.

“It is important to state that only the on-going refurbishing of Akwanga-Maiduguri road that President Buhari can lay claim to as the singular and only project in which he has demonstrated capacity.”