PDP blames Buhari for rise in suicides, divorces in Nigeria

In a statement signed by the PDP's spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday, May 26, 2019, the main opposition party said the rise of social ills in the country is due to bad governance under Buhari's leadership.

The party further alleged that despondency, depression and misery have escalated in the country "since the rigging of the 2019 Presidential election", an election won by President Buhari.

The party further blamed Buhari and the APC for failing to deal with escalating insecurity in the country and leaving Nigerians exposed to the worst kinds of crimes.

The party said, "The PDP described as a national tragedy, the rising spate of suicides, slavery mission abroad, divorces, child abandonment and other social degeneration occasioned by the worsening economic hardship, poverty, hunger and rising insecurity under the incompetent, corrupt, divisive and manipulative All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.

"The party laments that such social ills, which is a direct response to bad governance, occurs when citizens are overwhelmed by gloom, with no hope in sight, particularly after their majority vote for a new, purposeful and result-oriented President in the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, as expressed in the February 23 Presidential election, was subverted with brazen impunity.

"In the last few months, the news media has been awash with horrible reports of teenage suicide in our country.

"Banditry, insurgency, marauding, bloodletting and kidnapping with unmentionable ransoms, have almost become daily occurrences. Our citizenry is now battling with the worst kind of siege mentality.

"Constitutional violations, human rights abuses, arbitrary arrests, extra-judicial killings, assault on perceived dissenting voices and attempt at annexation of our institutions of democracy, particularly the judiciary, signposts a nation in dire strait.

"Misery has set in. This is evident in the shrinking of our nation's Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) to 2.1percent in the first quarter of 2019.

"It is saddening that at the time Nigerians ought to be celebrating, they are rather forlorn, committing suicide and exiting the country in droves.

"Most Nigerians have become downhearted in the face of an administration that wrecked our once robust economy and divided our people; in the face of worsening joblessness, piling bills, hunger and diseases; in the face of incompetence, lies, and unfulfilled promises of free homes, monthly allowance to unemployed youth and the poor, bringing the naira to the same value as the US Dollar, creating of 5 million new jobs, ending of insurgency in three months and myriad of other false promises."

The PDP also complained about Nigeria's rising debt profile under Buhari as well as the alleged elevation of incompetence, deceit, propaganda, failure and "cabal mentality".

The party called on Nigerians to uphold and support one another to check the rising social degeneration in the country.

"The PDP however calls on Nigerians not to despair but stand firm in their collective determination to retrieve the stolen Presidential mandate at the tribunal, so they can have an administration that truly cares for them and which has the competence to return our nation on her deserved path of peace, national cohesion and economic prosperity," the party said.

Atiku vs Buhari

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, is legally challenging the result of the February election [AFP] AFP

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) crowned Buhari winner of the February 23 presidential election with 15,191,847 of the total votes cast while the PDP's candidate, Atiku Abubakar, gained 11,262,978 votes.

However, in a petition filed before the tribunal, Atiku claimed that he actually won the election with 1.6 million more votes than Buhari according to an internal compilation of results he claimed was obtained from INEC's server.

According to the result obtained from the INEC server as claimed by Atiku in his petition, the former vice president actually scored 18,356,732 votes while Buhari scored 16,741,430 votes. This does not include results from Rivers State which had allegedly not been transmitted at the time Atiku claims the data was captured.

While filing its response before the tribunal on April 11, INEC accused Atiku and the PDP of producing fake election results to prove their case.

"INEC specifically denies the existence of electronic transmission of results and it is unknown to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)," the commission noted in its response.

Atiku also accused Buhari of not possessing the educational qualification to contest, alleging that he submitted false academic documents to INEC to aid his qualification.

In their counter to Atiku's petition, Buhari and the APC said the former vice president is not qualified to contest for the presidency because he was born in Adamawa State at a time when it was Northern Cameroon before it voted during a 1961 referendum to align with Nigeria.