The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is pleased to welcome to the 2015 presidential contest, the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari who declared his intention yesterday to run but accused him of distortions and misrepresentation of facts in his speech.
A statement by the PDP national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh said the presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Buhari did not set the records straight and needed to be corrected.
“According to General Buhari, Nigeria was generating 4000 mws of electricity in 1999 but has today fallen short of that capacity under the PDP. However, the fact remains that as at May 29th 1999 when PDP took office, Nigeria was generating 1600 mws. We urge Nigerians to fact-check on this. Corroboration of this figure can also be sought from the World Bank, the IMF and multiple other authoritative sources.
“In contrast, it is common knowledge that under the transformative leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria now generates 4568 mws of electricity; a triple of what was generated in 1999. Again, General Muhammadu Buhari stated that a growing economy which the PDP inherited in 1999 has been destroyed within 15 years in office. This also does not represent the reality on the ground.
“The fact which can be verified from the hand-over notes from the military as well as from the World Bank and IMF is that Nigeria was the third largest economy in Africa in 1999, behind South Africa and Egypt. The nation was also rated number 48 in the world, our Foreign Reserve at $3.6 Billion while our foreign debt stood at $36 billion.
“It is incontrovertible that in the last 15 years of PDP leadership, especially the last three years of dynamic and purposeful administration provided by President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s economy has become the largest in Africa and the 26th largest in the world. Similarly, our Foreign Reserve is now over $39 billion dollars, and our foreign debts reduced to less than $7 billion from $36 billion,” the party said.
The party also refuted Gen Buhari’s claim that Nigeria’s agricultural sector has gone down under the PDP stressing that in the last 15 years under the PDP, Nigeria’s food import has reduced from N1.1 trillion in 2010 to N684 billion.
“While we understand that the APC is hell-bent on using every opportunity at its disposal to discredit the PDP in quest for political control, we urge their handlers to always cross-check their facts and stop making mockery of respected Nigerians in the mould of General Buhari,” he said.
