PDP Mocks Buhari’s Unpopularity In Lagos …Flays President's Commissioning of Ambode’s Bus Stop

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said that "the unprecedented public resentment" and the resort to heavy security during President Muhammadu Buhari’s Thursday’s visit to Lagos state is a loud testimony of the sinking image of the President and that of his dysfunctional All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The party also criticised President Buhari for failing to initiate or execute any project in Lagos state since assumption of office, a development the party noted was why Buhari had to resort to commissioning a bus stop project initiated by the Lagos State government as "a ridiculous face-saving stunt that".

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, said President Buhari should not allow himself to be deceived by praise singers at the Tinubu Colloquium, urging him to draw a lesson from the public resentment that trailed his visit.

The opposition party noted that accused the APC of completely locking down the city and deploying heavy security to restrain the people, "having realized the citizens’ overwhelming indignation against the President".

The PDP said: "It was obvious that President Buhari’s handlers were mortally afraid of his being embarrassed by Lagosians, who are direct victims of the noxious policies of the Buhari Presidency, including the discredited monetary, foreign exchange and import restriction policies, which had led to the collapse of private businesses; multiple taxes and general government ineptitude, nepotism and dictatorial tendencies in the last three years under President Buhari."

It continued:

"The handlers had to lockdown the city, regardless of the huge economic loss and inconvenience to citizens and holed their principal into the safety of the colloquium hall where he was surrounded by praise singers, away from the people"

The PDP stated that Lagosians are aware that Mr. President suddenly remembered the state just because elections are around the corner.

According to the PDP,  "Lagosian’s have not forgotten that this was the same leader who, in 1984, canceled the Lagos metro rail project only to come back 34 years after, without any form of remorse, to commission a regular bus stop built by the state government.

It is most tragic that while the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who hosted President Buhari early this month, was commissioning factories in all districts of his country to mark his one year in office, our President could only offer Lagos, with its over 22 million population, the commissioning of a bus stop, which unfortunately, he did not even build

"If President Buhari had not sabotaged the people of Lagos by aborting the rail project in 1984, the state would have become one of the most advanced cities in the world by now" it lamented

The statement continued:
"Instead of bringing blessing to Lagos, President Buhari’s visit brought more suffering, economic loss and pains, as the lockdown cost the state a major part of its $250 million daily GDP.

It is also instructive to inform that contrary to impression of achievements, the Buhari-led Federal Government has no input whatsoever in both the Eko Atlantis City and the $1.5 billion Lagos Deep Water Port, which were respectively toured and flagged off by the President during his visit.

These projects are running on public, private partnership initiated by the Lagos state government, which leveraged on the enabling business environment created by the PDP administration.

"We urge President Buhari not to, in anyway, under any guise whatsoever, attempt to appropriate these projects as his achievements"