Nigeria@60: PDP urges Buhari to unite Nigerians

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take practical steps to entrench the culture of rule of law and strengthen harmonious living in Nigeria.

The party gave the advice in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a reaction to Mr Buhari’s speech on Nigeria at 60 independence anniversary.

Mr Ologbondiyan urged Mr Buhari to take the steps ”through inclusiveness, equity in wealth distribution and equal access to opportunities for all Nigerians irrespective of creed, class, and ethnicity.”

Mr Ologbondiyan advised Mr Buhari ”to take urgent steps that would address the challenge of divisive tendencies and economic policies confronting the country.”

He also advised him to engender harmony and productivity ”by allowing for more robust discourse that would lead to affordable prices for fuel and other essential commodities in the country.”

Mr Ologbondiyan said any attempt to justify the increase of fuel price in Nigeria by comparing it with the N168 per litre cost in Saudi Arabia was not tenable.

He said that the minimum wage in “Saudi Arabia is N305,113 (3000 Saudi Riyals), 10 times higher than our paltry N30,000 which is largely unimplemented in Nigeria.”

Mr Ologbondiyan said ”on the average, a person working in Saudi Arabia earned around 4,230SAR (N430, 267) to 16,700 SAR (N1,698,693) per month.”

He added that in Egypt ”the monthly average earning was around N222, 841 (9,200 EGP) against our N30,000.”

“In comparing our costs with other countries such as Ghana, Chad and Niger where purchasing power of citizens are much more higher, did Mr President reflect on the cost of house rent?

“Did he compare the cost of education, healthcare and average dependence on fuel for daily survival by ordinary citizens as obtainable in Nigeria?”

Mr Ologbondiyan said if present administration had continued with the programmes laid by previous administrations under PDP to revive the country’s refineries and provide infrastructural backbone for the productive sector, fuel price would not be more than N100 per litre.

He said such would have applied to the gains from by-product from crude oil.

“Furthermore, credible elections are essential to harmonious living, he added. “Our party, therefore, restates our commendation to Mr President for his new-found commitment to non-interference in elections leading to conduct of free, fair and credible governorship election in Edo State on Sept. 19.

“We urge President Buhari to toe the line of the Edo election in the October 10, Ondo governorship election so as to consolidate the legacy of free and fair election under his watch.”