- * Says It Lacks Logic
By Chinwendu Agoha (Governance Reporter)
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has dismissed the reaction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to President Muhammadu Buhari's decision to dismiss two cabinet ministers, describing it as laughable and devoid of logic.
The group said in a statement by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, that PDP's position shows that discipline and processes are alien to the former ruling party.
"On the surface, PDP's reaction to the sack of former Minister of Agriculture, Mohammed Nanono, and his Power counterpart Saleh Mammah, could be easily dismissed as the usual opposition sentiments, but in reality, it exposes the party as one that cares little about discipline and processes.
"This is because the leadership of a party which was in power at the center for 16 years would be expected to have an idea of the role of cabinet members in driving official policies in their respective ministries, as well as the consequences of failure.
"But we also know that the PDP era was one that did not take processes and procedures seriously, and that was why there was neither a formal evaluation process of ministers nor targets set for cabinet members in any of the three previous administrations.
"Many of the cabinet members, back then, were so powerful that they willfully and routinely disobeyed Presidential directives and even ignored summons by the National Assembly.
"For the avoidance of doubt, President Buhari handed down a checklist of deliverables to each of the 42 ministers on assuming office which was to be subjected to periodic evaluations as well as peer review at cabinet level.
"So we believe that a party that failed disastrously in its 16 years in power should be taking notes on governance from the Buhari administration which is institutionalizing processes that were hitherto unknown in these climes.
"We eagerly look forward to the probe PDP said it intends to undertake in order to find the real reasons behind the President's decision", the group said.
BMO added that President Buhari deserves credit for not interfering with the outcome of the evaluation process.
"Only a President that is conscious of his place in history will not allow personal nuances to come in the way of decision-making processes.
"This is because one of the ministers asked to leave the cabinet has a long-standing personal and political relationship with President Buhari, yet that did not affect the outcome of the processes.
"We recall that the President recently said he does not intend to leave office as a failure so it should not be out of place for him to ease out appointees who are not meeting up to his expectations.
"We however eagerly look forward to the probe PDP said it intends to do in order to find the real reasons behind the President's decision, and hope the opposition party will be fair enough to do it without bias, even though the party is not known to operate with an open mind".
BMO reassured Nigerians that President Buhari will keep to its words of leaving Nigeria better than he met it in 2015. NNL.
