The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has lashed out at President Muhammadu Buhari over the signing of the Deep Offshore bill into law in far away London.
The party which expressed displeasure over the situation described the President’s action as unjustifiable as it stressed that such power is not entrenched in the constitution for the president.
There have been uproar in various circles after Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari flew to London on Monday with the bill which the president assented to.
According to the PDP in a statement issued on Wednesday, the move is ‘inexcusable and insulting’ to the sensibility of Nigerians.
The statement signed by the South West Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, Ayo Fadaka also berated the presidency for allegedly ridiculing the office of the Vice President and the entire country.
The statement reads, “These developments must serve as a wakeup call to all patriots that there is indeed fire on the mountain, thus immediate beginning of eternal vigilance to rescue our democracy from the vice grips of power hungry appointees of the President working in cahoot with him is now essential.
While we are absolutely uninterested in the unhealthy developments within the Presidency which is fast developing into a schism, we declare that Nigerian nation and its interests far surpasses the immature and pedestrian scheming of the President and his cabal. It is now common knowledge that memos from the office of the Vice President is now subjected to the superintendency of the President’s Chief of Staff, that is an outright abuse of privilege.
“Nigerians expect the Buhari Presidency to work assiduously in the interest of our nation and vastly revamp our economy which they destroyed with their naive policies since 2015 and not to prosecute little wars when they should be working for the nation.
“That action of President Buhari to sign a bill into law in far away Britain is inexcusable and insulting to the sensibilities of Nigerians and nothing on earth can excuse or justify it.
The statement further reads that “The opinion expressed by some APC leaders that the President can work from anywhere, with due apologies to them and their status, is both patronizing and idiotic as far as signing a bill into law is concerned, this is because such laws are to be enforced within the boundaries of our nation which certainly does not extend to everywhere.
“The President can only work from anywhere when he is pursuing diplomatic and bilateral relations on behalf of the nation.
“We conclude that it is not right for President Buhari to drag the nation to his sick bed in the UK, that is why the Constitution made a provision for a Vice President. Nigeria cannot be restricted to the whims and caprices of anybody, irrespective of his/their privilege positions.
“Nigeria is a nation of virile people whose fortunes have completely been destroyed in the Buhari years with petty attitudes of this nature.
“We take serious views of developments in our nation these past few days beginning with the whimsical summary dismissal of the petition of our Presidential Candidate and Party’s petition by the Supreme Court without a hearing, an action that is inconsistent with constitutional provisions and now this new odious signing into law of a bill by our President in a foreign land as symptoms of an emerging dictatorship that is waiting to blossom.”
The PDP, however, alleged that private visit of the president to London is nothing but a medical tourism.
“We take due notice of the fact that President Buhari has again embarked on another of his undeclared medical tourisms to the United Kingdom and has obviously taken along with him to his sick bed the affairs of the Nigerian nation, this is sad.”
