…says its a violation of Constitution
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s “technical stopover” in London without formal transmission to the National Assembly is an abuse of the constitution.
The party also advised the Presidency to reveal the real reasons for the president’s “technical stopover” in London.
Recall that the presidency while reacting to news that the president was on another medical trip to London after his visit to Donald Trump, said he (the president) only had a “technical stopover” in London and not on medical grounds as circulated in some quarters.
However, the party, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, said the presidency should end ‘official secrecy’ as the president is not a private citizen, therefore his activities must be fully disclosed.
Tthe President, who left Abuja on Saturday on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President Donald Trump, left the US after the meeting on Tuesday morning.
Buhari was expected on Wednesday as the report released to announce his departure from Nigeria to the US didn’t state he would be stopping by in London. He however, arrived London Tuesday evening.
The party believes full information should be given especially as President Buhari’s foreign trips come at great costs with no gains to the country, citing the times when the president made negative statement about the country and its citizens.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that President Buhari left the United States 48 hours ago and embarked on an unofficial visit to United Kingdom for undisclosed reasons without transmitting a letter to the National Assembly. This is impunity and another constitutional breach.
“Indeed, Nigerians are worried about the signal being sent out by this penchant for secret itinerary, particularly, given the poor reputation and governance transparency issues confronting our nation under the Buhari administration.
“The Presidency must understand that President Buhari is not a private citizen and as long as his upkeep and itinerary is sourced from our hard-earned resources, there must be full disclosure, as citizens deserve to know the purpose of the visit and the cost to our nation.
The party claims Mr Buhari admitted to the Voice of America (VOA) that he was unable to reach any agreement with President Donald Trump on any matter of interest to Nigeria during his US visit and that he has no future development agenda to validate his 2019 re-election bid.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the president however returned back to the country on Thursday night.