UNGA: Reps Caucus Tackles Buhari For ‘Lying’ To World Leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of painting a false picture of Nigeria’s current realities when he made his presentation before world leaders at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday.

The House of Representatives minority caucus, in a statement on Sunday, expressed shock at bold claims the president made about Nigeria’s economy and insecurity during the outing.

In the statement signed by Ndudi Elumelu, minority leader of the house, the lawmakers said they were “alarmed” by Buhari’s claim that insurgents had been “weakened” by his administration, whereas it is public knowledge that military formations, schools and communities have witnessed increased and frequent attacks by terrorists.

According to the lawmakers, Buhari’s speech further shows that he lacks empathy toward victims of terrorism attacks across the country.

They advised the president to “always cross-check the content given to him by his handlers” to avoid misinforming the public especially on important platforms such as the UNGA.

“Our caucus holds that President Buhari’s speech is a great disservice to our nation by not presenting the true picture of affairs in our country; the human rights violations, corruption, and incompetence in his administration; the excruciating hardship, escalated insecurity, national divisiveness and infrastructural decay under his watch, thereby blocking avenues for desired intervention in our various ailing sectors

“The minority caucus was alarmed by President Buhari’s report to UNGA that terrorists have been so weakened in Nigeria that they are now preying on soft targets, when in reality, insurgents have become so emboldened under his watch, that they are now attacking military formations, kidnapping and killing our gallant officers while overrunning communities and murdering our citizens without restrain.

“As representatives of the people, the Minority caucus is depressed that President Buhari’s speech did not reflect on the kidnapping and killing of students and school children in Nigeria. The speech did not reflect on the closure of schools and crippling of education in many parts of our country, where normal life has been destroyed by terrorists, neither did it show any empathy towards the victims of terrorism attacks.”

“Our caucus is worried that in reflecting on violent conflicts, Mr. President’s address conveyed no personal commitments that can guarantee an end to poor and undemocratic governance, human rights abuses, poverty, ignorance, injustice and inequalities, that are prevalent under his watch, even after identifying such as the causes of conflicts.

“Also, the minority caucus is shocked by the claims in Mr. President’s speech that his administration “built” isolation centers and emergency hospital wards, ‘all over the country’ ‘in record time’ in the fight against COVID-19; a claim that is in conflict with the infrastructural reality in the country,” said Elumelu.

The statement further read, “Moreover, our caucus is worried that Mr President’s speech did not portray any decisive roadmap towards economic recovery and food security; had no personal commitment to end corruption in his administration; had no personal commitment to end borrowing or show a clear-cut plan to repay the huge debt being accumulated by his administration.

“The speech also lacked definite personal commitments towards credible electoral process especially as the nation approaches 2023 general election.

“The minority caucus, after due consideration, urges President Buhari to always cross-check the content given to him by his handlers so as to ensure that his position, especially on the world stage, captures the reality as well as the aspiration prevalent in the country. This is because such addresses ought to serve as an unblemished working document for interventions and solutions at various levels of governance.”