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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded that the Presidency immediately make public all issues relating to the private visit of President Muhammadu Buhari’s to the United Kingdom.
The party, which queried the Presidency for always shrouding issues around the President in secrecy, demanded a full disclosure on the scope, purpose, direct destination, duration as well as the cost and source of funding for the trip.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Wednesday, said President Buhari is not a private citizen and cannot embark on private trips, wrapped in secrecy, since his upkeep draws directly from national resources and taxpayers’ money.
The main opposition party said its concern stemmed from media reports of the president’s annual vacation to the United Kingdom scheduled to commence from April 9.
But the opposition spokesperson explained that while the party has nothing against Mr. President embarking on any trip, he insisted that there must be full disclosures to Nigerians because the citizens deserve to know the purpose of the visit and the cost on the nation.
According to him, while the visit has a departure date, it has no date of arrival.
“We know that Mr. President is billed to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to take place between April 16 and 20, but Nigerians are wondering why he is taking off to an undisclosed destination in London two clear weeks ahead.
“We ask: Is President Buhari and his handlers hiding anything from Nigerians so much so that they cannot disclose the reason and duration of the so-called private visit?
“Today, our economy is hemorrhaging and the citizens are languishing because of the continued lack of accountability and total incompetence of the Buhari-led administration,” the statement reads.
The party insisted that public officers at all levels, particularly the occupier of the office of the President, must be “accountable, transparent and answerable in all their dealings at all times, especially under an administration that claims zero tolerance for corruption”.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
