Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The Presidency again, on Sunday, came for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying none of the absurdities recorded when they were in power in the past 16 years has happened under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a document titled “The real price of change-the-change campaign (2) made available to State House Correspondents in Abuja.

According to him, Buhari’s government has fared well in various policy fronts and there is a long list of achievements to flaunt.

Shehu said popular support for the administration, especially among the poor and disadvantaged was still holding up and was unlikely to significantly wane

He added that Buhari’s greatest assets were his concerns for the poor citizens and the nation.

“This is why he has led the country through difficult changes, such as the increase in the pump price of fuel and the landmark steps to stabilize the Naira, at grave risk to political capital, but measures that had become necessary for the benefit of the nation,” he said.

Shehu alleged that during PDP days in power, the party showed aptitude in toppling of elected state governments using the police and secret service under their control.

He said, “A five-man legislature met at 6am and ‘impeached’ Governor Dariye in Plateau; 18 members out of 32 removed Governor Ladoja of Oyo from office; in Anambra, APGA’s Governor Obi was equally impeached at 5am by members who did not meet the two-thirds required by the constitution.

“His offence was that he refused to inflate the state’s budget. The lawmakers had reportedly met with representatives of the President in Asaba , Delta State and then  accompanied to Awka by heavy security provided by the police Mobile Unit.

“The PDP President at that time had reportedly told Obi to forget re-election in 2007 if he did not join the PDP because he (the President) would not support a non-PDP member.

“In Ekiti, Governor Fayose in his first term faced allegations of financial corruption and murder. Following the failure to heed the instruction of the presidency to impeach only Fayose and spare the deputy, Madam Olujimi, now a senator, the PDP President declared that there was a breakdown of law and order in the state and  declared a state of emergency.

“He appointed Brig-Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd.) as the sole administrator of the state on October 19, 2006.

“In an earlier incident in Anambra, it took an insider collaboration to thwart the unseating of Governor Ngige by a powerful thug sponsored by the PDP administration.

“The parliament at the centre seized the law-making powers of the Rivers State House of Assembly as a way to save Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the then chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum from impeachment by the PDP presidency.

“Thank God for Buhari, none of these absurdities has happened under his watch but the PDP is indicating their boredom with his meticulous observance of the constitution by calling for a return to the old order.”

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The Presidential Media Aide wondered what pushed the PDP to write a letter to the United Nations, laying false claims to constitutionality and alleging that democracy is presently under threat.

He, however, attributed the party’s action to “an angry opposition unhappy about the loss of privileges they desperately want to hang on to, privileges now abolished by the prudent, austere Buhari Administration.”

He also recalled that a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, shocked the world by the revelation in her new book, titled, “Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines;” that they paid N17 billion bribe to the National Assembly to get them pass the 2015 budget.

Shehu said Buhari’s first budget in 2016 was the first year of passing the budget without the bribery of legislators.

He said the President He came to power to clean up the mess and has so far managed a cleaner government than all of the past administrations.

He regretted that beneficiaries of the old order have since been complaining that they are being starved.

Shehu wondered what will happen to them in four more years of Buhari.

“If by chance or accident you have a $16bn question hanging on your neck, money large enough to construct the Lagos-Port Harcourt standard gauge railway and the massive Mambila power plant put together without borrowing a kobo, then you see a capacity in the change administration to end the shenanigans and get to the root of what happened with the money in that exercise, what do you do?

“Most people will say start running, scream it: that this change we voted for has gone too far. Foxy generals don’t wait to be caught.

“It is the same thing with the narrative of suffering and hunger in the land, the blame which is unfairly being heaped on this administration.

“Understood in its proper meaning, it is just a way of saying that the country’s ghastly and complicated corruption industry, which provides inestimable amounts of disposable incomes to public servants and elected officials is being shut down.

“What government has done in the trade and investment sector, and in other processes of government are illustrative of this. Government has been streamlining systems as a result of which there is transparency and fewer rules.

“That’s what the ease of doing business is all about, measures that have brought a lot of international compliment to Nigeria and for which there is a Presidential Enabling Business Council. As a result of this work Nigeria moved 24 places on the World Bank ease of doing business rankings, and earned a place on the list of 10 most improved economies in 2017. “A prospective investor unjustly denied visa to visit Nigeria by a consular officer in a Nigerian mission can today hop into a plane and obtain his/her visa on arrival.

“New businesses which took years upon years to register now have a maximum of a 48-hour waiting period to be certified.

“Change-the-Change cries will continue to ring from elected officials and the beneficiaries of the old order who enjoy grinding the ordinary citizens into the dust and denying them access to the basics of government. These are the real losers who are rooting for the reversal of the change,” he added.

Shehu then listed some of the feats he said the present administration achieved in three years.