Metuh to Buhari: Instead of marketing, you are demarketing Nigeria abroad
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) draws the attention of Nigerians to the harmful consequences of the unabated negative statements from the very father of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari, on the economy and the general image of the country.
The party said “it is worrisome that in the last six months, the
President, instead of making efforts to harness resources and grow the economy, has rather continued to apply himself, perhaps unwittingly, to demarketing the nation and scaring away investors through negative labeling of Nigerians and unwarranted unhealthy portrayal of the nation’s economy”.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, on Sunday, said the President’s unwary statements have become a very serious clog in the wheel of progress, eroding the confidence of both domestic and international investors in the Nigerian economic and social
system.
“In the last six months, our President has only succeeded in
discouraging foreign investors with his continued misrepresentation of our country as a business unfriendly environment, where most of the citizens are basically corrupt, dishonest, and cannot be trusted.
“Whereas we have restated our total support for the war against corruption, we insist that Mr. President’s unceasing blanket negative labeling of citizens, in a country where millions of honest and hardworking individuals/firms are genuinely contributing daily to the development effort, is indeed a disservice and injurious to the nation and the people.
“Furthermore, Mr. President’s recent announcement to the world that the nation, with its abundant human and natural resources, is broke and cannot pay cabinet ministers not only sends a discouraging signal to the domestic and international business community, but also exposes the ineptitude of the present administration to meaningfully and sincerely exert itself and work with industrious and innovative investors to
create and manage wealth.
“We ask; how can any reasonable investor still have the confidence to invest in a country where the President himself continues to alert that his country reeks of corrupt people and that the government is broke to the extent it cannot pay cabinet ministers?
“Is the President not directly advising investors against having confidence in Nigeria and the system, and that they risk not being paid for jobs awarded by government at any level?
“More worrisome is the fact that Mr. President most times, makes his damaging comments in international fora with potential investors in attendance to the extent that reminds one of the proverbial father who, in the presence of potential suitors, often portrays his daughters as wayward and yet constantly complain of their inability to find husbands.
“Indeed, this is not the way to go, Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant human and natural resources. What we need at the moment is a serious, innovative and practical approach with the capacity to harness the resources and create wealth for the benefit of all, instead of an apparently laidback scapegoat tactics with outworn excuses and unhelpful
comments.
“May we remind Mr. President that even in the darkest period of our economic challenges, successive administrations made efforts in steadying the economy, while always reassuring our citizens and the international community of the strength and economic potentials of our great nation.
“We know that in the desperation to cover its apparent lack of economic plan, this administration has positioned cabinet ministers, upon inauguration to concentrate on diversionary blame game on the past PDP administration. But even this political deceit cannot combat the unpalatable consequences of Mr. President’s damaging utterances on the image of the nation and its economy.
Finally, we wish to remind the President and those around him that Nigerians, by the 2015 elections, have committed the fate of the country in his hands for the next four years and are not willing to accept excuses for any economic failures under his watch.
Signed:
Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary
Femi Adesina to Metuh: Buhari can’t be distracted by a broken record
Our attention has been drawn to the latest statement by the PDP spokesman, Olisa Metuh, alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari is “demarketing Nigeria”.
We restate for the umpteenth time to Mr. Metuh and his ilk that their attempts to distract President Buhari from the job he has been elected to do will fail.
President Buhari will remain true to the virtues of honesty, integrity, sincerity, incorruptibility and plain-speaking which endeared him to Nigerians and made them prefer his leadership that of a lying and deceptive PDP administration.
The President will not, in the guise of “marketing” the country, refrain from telling Nigerians and the world, the emerging truths about the abject state in which years of plundering by a PDP leadership has left the Nigerian treasury and economy.
President Buhari will not in the name of “marketing” or “attracting” investors, follow in the footsteps of the ousted PDP Administration and its discredited officials who shamelessly lied to Nigerians and the world about the buoyancy and vibrancy of an economy they had bled dry for personal gain, when it was very obvious to the discerning, that the Nigerian economy was headed for serious trouble.
It is most unfortunate that instead of showing some remorsefulness for the harm done to the nation by his party, and giving genuine support for President Buhari’s efforts to salvage and revamp the national economy, Mr. Metuh persists in a vain attempt to remain relevant on the national stage by unjustly denigrating the President who continues to strive with all his might to alleviate and reverse the harm done to the nation by PDP misrule and corruption.
Mr. Metuh’s antics are futile. President Buhari cannot be distracted by a broken record. If the PDP spokesman ever has serious matters to bring to our attention, we will be prepared to listen.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 1, 2015
Fayose to Buhari: Where is your economic blueprint?
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm that Nigeria is grinding to a halt with the current economic situation prevailing in the country.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti, the governor noted that the issue at stake was grievous and not what people should play political propaganda with.
He lamented the situation whereby what accrues to all the tiers of government was not even enough to pay workers’ salaries.
“The month’s statutory allocation is the worst in the history of our state. We got a net allocation of N1.4 billion at state level while the salary of workers is N2.6 billion monthly. At the local government level, the 16 council areas got a little over N1 billion, while the wage bill there is over N2 billion monthly.
“Payment of salaries at both state and local government levels is impossible with such allocations. And government still have some basic needs to meet. The other time I said the Federal Government should come to the open on the state of our national economy, some people frowned at it.
“Now, a national paper has quoted the President as saying that Nigeria is broke and that it might be difficult to pay ministers that will soon come on board. It is vital that the Federal Government tells Nigerians the blueprint it has for the economy. The issue at stake is beyond sheer politics.
“If the trend continues, in the next few months, all the tiers of government may not even be able to pay a month salary to workers if three statutory allocations are combined,” the governor said.
While appealing to the workers in the state to bear with the government, he said a meeting of all stakeholders in the sharing of monthly allocation would soon hold to chart the way forward.
“We have been transparent as far as the revenue coming to the purse of the state is concerned. Since we came on board, labour leaders and heads of state agencies have always met where we disclose how much comes in and the people will decide how to spend it. However, I am assuring the people of the state that we will try our best possible and never let them down,” Fayose added.
