PDP sets out agenda for Theresa May's visit saying she must take Buhari to task on violence, intimidation and corruption

NIGERIA'S main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has drawn up an agenda for the impending visit of British prime minister Theresa May that involves getting her to question the government about a series of matters including corruption and intimidation.

Yesterday, Mrs May kicked off a three-nation African tour with a trip to South Africa that will see her visit Nigeria and Kenya too. Upping the ante ahead of her arrival, the PDP said Mrs May should use her state visit to uncover the alleged dismal state of the country by resisting what it called choreographed plan by the presidency to hoodwink her for an endorsement stunt.

Also, the PDP called on the British leader not to allow the Buhari presidency to confine her to the parlours of the presidential villa but to insist on visiting other parts of the nation to enable her appreciate the false performance indices which it said the federal government had been dishing out to the world. PDP publicity secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, claimed that there were plans by the federal government to roll out inaccurate figures during the visit to deceive the international community.

Mr Ologbondiyan said: “We have been made aware of plans by the federal government to use the visit to dish out more lies to the international community in an effort to cover its failures in governance in the last three years, for which Nigerians are clamouring for a new president under the PDP. The PDP further charges the British Prime Minister, as a parliamentarian, to take the Buhari presidency to task on its unabated interference and violent attacks on the institution of the National Assembly, including threats to forcefully remove the elected presiding officers of the senate, as well as the recent invasion and blockade of the National Assembly by the presidency-controlled security forces.

“The PDP also wants the British leader to put President Muhammadu Buhari to task on his widely condemned stand against the supremacy of the rule of law in addition to records of the violation of human rights in Nigeria. This includes government’s disobedience to court orders, reported extrajudicial killings, torture, unlawful political arrests and detention, restriction of free speech and media freedom and lack of government’s accountability as detailed in the reports by various international bodies, including Transparency International, Amnesty International and the US Department of State.”

He added that Mrs May should also elicit discussions with the president on the recent report by Price Waterhouse Cooper which he said showed humongous corruption in the current administration, including the circumstances surrounding the N4tn unremitted oil money in agencies under President Buhari's direct supervision as a minister. Mr Ologbondiyan also urged the prime minister to engage President Buhari on the alleged violent rigging of elections under his watch and extract a commitment from him on his administration’s preparedness to organise free, fair and credible general elections in 2019.