PDP castigates Buhari for failing to give inaugural address saying it proves he was not truly elected

NIGERIA'S main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for not delivering an inaugural address during his swearing-in ceremony yesterday saying it proves he was suffering from guilt over the rigged elections.

Yesterday, on May 29, President Buhari was sworn-in for a second term after being declared the winner in February's presidential elections. In the two-horse race, President Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), beat former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate but the matter is still the subject of litigation as it is before the elections tribunal.

In a low-key event yesterday, President Buhari and vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo were sworn-in at Eagles Square Abuja and 29 governors also took the oath of office in their state capitals. Unlike in previous years where the presidential swearing-in was filled with fanfare, yesterday's event was boycotted by all of Nigeria's past leaders apart from General Yakubu Gowon, the war time military ruler who governed the country between 1966 and 1975.

Also, in a break with tradition, President Buhari left Eagles Square after taking the oath and today flies out of the country to attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Saudi Arabia. According to the PDP, the president and the APC are overburdened by the guilt of the rigged presidential election, hence the lack of enthusiasm.

PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan, said the absence of a speech also shows President Buhari’s insensitivity and the level of derision with which his handlers and party hold Nigerians. He added that given that the presidential mandate they parade did not emanate from the people, they were unable to make any commitments at the ceremony, which reinforces the truism that a product of a flawed electoral process cannot serve the people or meet their aspirations under a constitutional democracy.

Mr Ologbondiyan added: “The poor attendance and passivity of the audience at the ceremony at a time that Nigerians were trooping, in their millions to the inauguration of state governors elected on the platform of the PDP, manifestly showed. It is indeed pathetic that at a ceremony such as a presidential inauguration, where truly elected leaders address their people, make commitments and unfold their governance direction, President Buhari did not showcase his plans or commitment to the development of critical sectors of our polity.

“It also speaks volumes that President Buhari had nothing to say to the victims of mindless killings and acts of violence in various parts of our country. Moreover, he had no direction toward stemming the economic distress under his administration for which Nigerians are now resorting to suicide and slavery missions abroad as options."

He stressed that in failing to address Nigerians, President Buhari turned the inauguration to a parody. However, the PDP urged Nigerians to take solace in their determination to retrieve the party's stolen presidential mandate at the tribunal so as to entrench a leadership that can lead Nigeria out of her present predicament.

Past leaders including former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan were both absent from the ceremony, as were former military rulers Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar. No other African president attended the event either and no world leaders were present.