Buhari ‘Patriotic’ In Asking World Bank To Focus On North – Oshiomhole

Former Edo Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has said President Muhammadu Buhari showcased “patriotism” when he asked the World Bank to concentrate development projects in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Oshiomhole, who confirmed being present in 2015 when Buhari made the request to Jim Yong Kim Jim, said the president’s statement was twisted to convey a sectional meaning.

“It is true that I was present with Mr. President during the interaction with the World Bank president,” Oshiomhole said in a statement.

“The context under which Mr. President made the statement that is now being twisted was against the backdrop of the devastation of the North-east zone, and the need to solicit for assistance from the World Bank and any other foreign agency to help address the issue.

“It was a patriotic request borne out of a burning desire to find immediate and permanent solution to the crises in the North-east zone.

The former governor said it was “unfortunate” for people to give sectional meaning to President Buhari’s request.

“This idea of trying to read sectional meaning to this genuine request for international assistance to help cushion the challenges faced as a consequence of the Boko Haram menace is utterly unfortunate,” he said.

“We should know when to play politics and when not to play politics especially with serious developmental challenges such as the unpalatable outcome of Boko Haram activities.

“We were quite happy that Mr. President was able to articulate his request for assistance from the World Bank amidst a host of other challenges confronting us as a nation.

“We needed to prioritize the challenges and the unwholesome plight of the Internally Displaced Persons was critical at that material time.

“Any reasonable president could not have asked for anything beyond that humanitarian crisis that was giving us international embarrassment,” he said.

Oshiomhole further urged Nigerians to desist from politicising the matter, saying President Buhari’s statesmanship remains unquestionable.

“President Buhari remains a statesman who is altruistic, genuine and patriotic in the discharge of his statutory responsibilities,” he added.

“We should see the country as one and work towards achieving her lofty objectives of being a true giant in the continent of Africa,” he said.