Buhari’s failed to project Nigeria’s economic interests in US – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has chided President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to promote Nigeria’s economic interest during his visit to the United States of America, saying that the Monday meeting with US President Donald Trump was embarrassing.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, said the president completely failed to project the economic interests of the country before the American government and the world.

Ologbondiyan remarked that the stance by the U.S. that it had not been investing substantially in Nigeria owing to the unconducive economic climate under the Buhari administration is alarming and further proves the party’s position.

“The U.S. would be investing substantially in Nigeria if Nigeria could implement a level-playing field that we asked for,” PDP stated.

Ologbondiyan declared: “It was alarming that President Buhari buckled in bilateral negotiation and failed to address the issue of the drop in the U.S. purchase of our crude oil, which is the main stay of our economy.

“Nigerians and the business community were aghast when President Buhari could not market our crude oil to his American counterpart even when in the course of question and answer session, a leeway was provided for him, he off-handedly declared that he cannot tell America what to do.

“Also President Buhari had no answers to President Trump’s stance that the US has not been investing substantially in Nigeria owing to unconducive economic climate under his administration, further confirming the stand of the PDP that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is running a moribund economy.

“More disturbing is the revelation that the U.S. supports Nigeria with $1 billion annually was disturbing as Buhari only confirmed that Nigeria received $500 million last year.

“We had expected President Buhari, as the ‘African Champion on Anti-Corruption’, to immediately respond to President Trump on the whereabouts of the shortfall of $500 million.

“It is also inexcusable that President Buhari had no answers to the security situation of daily bloodletting and mass killings in Nigeria, which President Trump described as ‘horrible’. Instead, he restricted himself to his script, which was silent on the issue.

“By this, the American government has summarily indicted President Buhari’s government on its failure to ensure security of lives and property of citizens.”

“On the whole, the visit surmises photo-ops of President Buhari in the White House in a bilateral session where President Trump was committed to marketing the US to the most populous black nation.”