The Presidency has said it is wrong to blame President Muhammadu Buhari for not fixing the economy in his first seven months in office.
It called on leaders of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) to rise above partisanship and stop misleading Nigerians “with false propaganda and misinformation to serve ulterior motives.”
Reacting to an article, entitled: “Seven Months After, President’s Change Agenda Scorecard’’, by Idayat Hassan”, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, yesterday said it was mischievous to attribute to the President promises he did not make during the campaign, and hold him accountable for them.
Any honest advocacy for democracy, he said, should not include distortion of facts and a misrepresentation of what Buhari promised to deal with during the campaigns.
According to him, it is misleading to invent issues to suit one’s political bias and prejudice and blame the President for not attending to issues within one’s mischievous and chimerical deadline to play down the significant aspects of what the President accomplished within seven months.
He said the CDD leaders would not serve the cause of democracy if they were primarily preoccupied with negativity and cynicism, constantly looking for something to condemn rather than appreciating the progress made by the President within seven months.
He noted that anybody or any group that focuses on negativity at the expense of objectivity would never see any good in the appreciable and significant progress made by the President.
The senior special assistant explained that no sincere Nigerian would fail to recognise the President’s courage in tackling corruption in a country where impunity is celebrated.
According to him, within seven months, President Buhari has blocked leakages, saying as a result, Customs Service has quadrupled its revenue base to incredible level.
“Doesn’t the President deserve credit for this and other efforts to confront the monster of corruption?”, Shehu asked.
On the economy, he said it was wrong to blame President Buhari for falling oil prices in the world market, a challenge which made the President put greater priority on economic diversification.
He recalled that the United States President Barack Obama inherited an economy in crisis, and that it would be unfair to blame him for not fixing it in seven months.
Shehu explained that President Buhari’s experience is a double whammy because he inherited an economy in crisis on account of declining oil revenue and an economy ravaged by incredible and large-scale corruption.
He said: “He is making progress towards improving governance, by tackling corruption. To date, persons believed to have stolen billions have been arrested, and are facing the courts; we are working with our allies – from Britain and America to France and Germany to China and UAE to source, locate and repatriate misappropriated funds.
“So far, an escrow account has been opened for money that is being returned. This is only the start: the return of stolen funds is important, but it is just as critical to ensure those who seek to steal realise that no longer will there be such impunity in Nigeria. Only by ending belief in such licence can we fully institute the rule of law.
“A few hours from now, the President will address the European Parliament. As the Italian prime minister said a few days ago at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, President Buhari’s war against corruption and terrorism has become a template for Africa and the world.
“It is amazing to see here at home, some individuals are not prepared to give these success the recognition they deserve.
“The latest CDD episode is a shocking reminder to their failed attempt to hold the President to “one hundred promises in 100 days” which disastrously crashed on the head of the proponent. The elevation of the act to a new high of 220 promises is a knee-jerk reaction that seeks to play to the galleries and score a cheap point against the President. This is a clear case of a solution looking for a problem,” he said.