President Buhari saying Nigerians are better off today than in 2015 gets swift rebuttal

When a politician seeks to write his own history, he only indulges in self-adulation. That may be exactly what President Muhammadu Buhari sought to do last week when in a written response to questions from Bloomberg, he posited that Nigerians are in a better place today than in 2015.

Unsurprisingly, the rebuke against the president’s comments was swift in coming. In the Bloomberg interview, Buhari had been asked how he will rate his performance in fulfilling his pledges to fight corruption, secure the country and fix the economy. “We leave Nigeria in a far better place than we found it,” the president said.

Finding Nigerians who say they are better off today is like looking for a needle in the bed of an ocean. The day after Buhari’s assertion, leaders of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and economists countered the claim made by the President.

Chairman of the Gas Group, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr Ola Adebayo, said Buhari’s regime’s policies have not translated into positive economy growth and real sector development, insisting “we only have very good policies on paper.”

Deputy-President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Gabriel Idahosa, said the reality was at variance with the claims, explaining, “the business community has been consistent in saying so. It’s not a matter of disagreeing with him. It’s a matter of looking at the facts.”

APC reacts to reports of voting N6.5 trillion for bribery, vote buying in 2023 general election
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied reports that it has set aside the sum of N6.5 trillion to rig the 2023 general election, accusing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being the brain behind the rumour.

The APC which describes the allegation as senseless and mischievous, said that the leaked document which has been circulating on social media that alleged that the party has voted the above mentioned obscene amount of money, did not emanate from the party, and so was not authored by them.

The clarification by the APC is contained in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Monday, where he described the leaked document as the figment of the imagination of PDP.

Morka said that the allegation is a handiwork of the PDP as part of desperate attempt to smear the image of PDP.