coronavirus spread — PDP spokesperson
Published March 29, 2020
Kola Ologbondiyan

The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in this interview with SUCCESS NWOGU says FG should be blamed for the rising cases of coronavirus infections in Nigeria

Is FG to blame for the rising spread of coronavirus?

Yes, of course, if we do not blame the All Progressives-led Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari, who else should we blame? Nigerians are aware that we have been giving pieces of advice since coronavirus started. If you go back to the statements we issued, you will see the augment of the PDP. At some point, we even said that Buhari should be held responsible if the pandemic is not well managed and for failure to carry out his responsibilities. Things were left undone. We provided many pieces of advice. We even said that the Federal Government should adopt stringent measures but we were ignored. We just hope it does not rise beyond the level it is now in the country. That is our prayers.

When we noticed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress is clueless and that it has no solution to offer, we as patriotic citizens and responsible party started being the pathfinder and giving good suggestions. We have been giving pieces of sound advice which, sadly appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

If you recall, the PDP had expressed worry over allegations of corruption in handling of the N1.3tn said to have been set aside by the Central Bank of Nigeria to cushion the effect of COVID-19 on the economy.  We demanded ultimate transparency in the utilisation of the fund and that it must be used for the intended purpose. We had also called on the Federal Government to come clean on the source of the intervention, the specific intervention projects where the fund will be applied, the level of involvement of other tiers of government and private stakeholders, as well as the mode of disbursements and monitoring of the fund.

What other suggestions did you made?

We also had suggested that the COVID-19 interventions be allocated to the three tiers of government to ensure effective delivery and monitoring. Remember that we also called on all economic stakeholders, particularly in the private sector, to immediately rally to articulate solutions and palliative measures, since it is clear that the Buhari-led APC government is clueless and has no solution to the numerous crises it cased on the nation.

But is the FG not making efforts to contain the virus?

It reached to a point when we said the government was inactive and unresponsive to the demands of times. We urged Buhari’s government to step up its actions. We advised the government to  move beyond rudimentary interventions and adopt more stringent measures to further safeguard Nigerians and other residents from the COVID-19 pandemic.

What exactly are you worried about?

We had expressed worry that the approach adopted by the government fall short of the required pre-emptive measures. We raised the alarm that Buhari’s government had left gaps that expose the nation to avoidable risks and the pandemic with the resultant challenge, suffering and inconvenience to the people, even the political class are not spared.

Is that all?

No, we also noted that Nigeria is a strategic international hub and  as such, counselled the FG  to adopt stringent  measures by radically stepping up our international ports and border screening as well as quickly improving our internal surveillance and hygiene monitoring system.

We advised Buhari’s government to go beyond its proposed secondary screening of travellers from certain countries and extend the measure to all international flights coming into the country, given the prevalence of connecting flights and land border crossing by international air travellers.

Did the government adhere to that when it was timely?

Don’t forget that we also pleaded with the FG to ensure that all domestic airlines undertake proper screening of passengers as well as fumigation of their aircraft to guarantee the safety of air travellers within Nigeria.

We also advised Buhari’s government to take immediate steps to create more screening centres and lead in providing more screening equipment in all our airports, seaports, land borders as well as crowded places such as schools, market places, commercial vehicle terminals, public work places, religious gatherings, among others.

You almost …

(Cuts in) If you remember, we also advised the government to  mobilise a more concerted effort against the pandemic, remain open, resist the temptation of false performance claims and keep Nigerians adequately informed on the true position of issues at all times. Did FG adopt such measures? So why won’t we blame Buhari’s government for the current woes of the nation?

Some people said the President ought to personally address Nigerians on the issue.

We were in the vanguard of the call for President Buhari to personally address the nation on the fight against the spreading of the pandemic in the country. Many stakeholders, even the Senate joined in the call for Buhari to address the nation on it. Has Buhari done that personally? We said he must lead from the front and the buck must stop on his table.  Are you not aware that instead of the President to heed to that call, his aides lambasted and lampooned the Senate and other people who called for Buhari to address the nation? Can you imagine that?

So are you saying that the FG has not done enough to address this pandemic?

Yes!  The government has not done enough to address the issue. What have we not said? We have said Nigerians should hold Buhari responsible if it escalated and it has escalated. It is the Federal Government that we are going to hold responsible in the mismanagement.

It is crystal clear that we were never prepared for this pandemic. The promises of the government as to its preparedness have all become hollow as everybody can see now. And we had enough time to safeguard lives.

It is worrisome that a country like Nigeria, with a population of about 200million people, does not have many isolation centres in all the six geopolitical zones of the country. The pandemic came quite unexpectedly but while other nations were being led from the front by their leaders, our President was nowhere to be found.

What measures did the government put in place for the people?

We the PDP are moving forward rather than engaging in blame games like the All Progressives Congress. It is our hope that they will rise to the occasion and do the needful in every sphere so that Nigerians can understand the fatality of the pandemic.

Is it not shameful that our general hospitals, specialist hospitals, in fact the tertiary and secondary health care systems are not even equipped to manage such an outbreak as this? This has become a lesson for the government to ensure that our health institutions are upgraded and equipped to respond to such an unforeseen situation.

So what is your advice to Nigerians?

Nigerians should stay safe and follow all the directives issued by government agencies and the World Health Organisation. They should minimise their movements and stay at home to stop the spread of the virus

https://punchng.com/blame-buharis-govt-for-coronavirus-spread-pdp-spokesperson/?amp=1.

Blame Buhari's gov for Coronavirus spread- pdp -PUNCH

Hmm

I agree 100%

Goodluck Jonathan administration was able to contain Ebola under PDP

BUT

Buhari and APC have failed Nigerians

Well

I won't say a word

PDP governors should Starr crediting ljur accounts then

Why e be sey na one political party,politicians of a particular religion and region dey infected?

No denying GEJ was swift and proactive in handling the Ebola outbreak. Can't say the same about Buhari

Make I no talk wetin dey my mind First

pdp that had a mega rally in Ibadan is blaming FG, hogwash!

pdp that had a mega rally in Ibadan is blaming FG? hogwash!

RandomVic:
No denying GEJ was swift and proactive in handling the Ebola outbreak. Can't say the same about Buhari

ebola was a west african issue dear, how many Nigerians travel withhin west africa compared to the hundreds of flights from different parts of the world into Nigeria, you better keep yourself safe instead of unnecessary politicking

I don hear, awon werey.
Whoever have something useful to say should step forward.

Goke7:

ebola was a west african issue dear, how many Nigerians travel withhin west africa compared to the hundreds of flights from different parts of the world into Nigeria, you better keep yourself safe instead of unnecessary politicking

Dude, don't let politics dab with your thinking. I don't give two fvcks about APC or PDP. I'm a Nigeria foremost while y'all play politics with your life, I don't. I remember quite vividly in 2014 the sensitization campaign about Ebola was swift, before long every Nigerian even my 90 year old grandma in the village knew what Ebola was. For once I was proud to be a Nigerian! Compare to what we have today, we literally had to beg, shout and cry for Buhari to actually do something. It's crazy!