The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wasted no time to react to President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech on Thursday as they claimed it was full of lies and he doesn’t deserve the vote of Nigerians.

Kola Ologbondiyan, the spokesman for the PDP, in a statement said that the President’s speech was laced with fabrications and false performances claims which are all characteristic of a failed leader, who has obviously been rejected by the people.

The statement read: “It rather too late in the day for President Buhari to redeem himself with an academic speech as Nigerians, having moved ahead with the people’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, are no longer ready to listen to his list of false promises and a  long claim of non-existent achievements.

“It is ludicrous that at a time President Buhari should be remorseful and apologize for his failures that led to the biting economic hardship, hunger, job losses, killings and escalated bloodletting in our country, under his watch, he chose to engage in a last-minute attempt to sway Nigerians with falsehood.

“Nigerians watched a President Buhari, who, having seen the handwriting on the wall, struggled with false economic growth figures and sought to blackmail the people with claims of non-existent food security and false assurances of safety in a nation heavily plagued by unemployment, loss of jobs, poverty as well as escalated insurgency and banditry.

“Nigerians watched as President Buhari claimed a rise in foreign reserves but failed to accept responsibility for the huge rise in our nation’s debt and the fact that our nation has become the poverty capital of the world.

“Furthermore, how would President Buhari want anybody to take his assurance of safety of members of global democratic institutions working for peaceful elections in our country after his presidency threatened the international community and endorsed the threats by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, that such foreigners will return to their country in body bags.

“The PDP counsels President Buhari to note that he has come to the end of the road and that Nigerians are no longer with him. He should, therefore, end all his rigging plots and allow Nigerians to rebuild our nation under the leadership of Atiku Abubakar, whom they have reached a consensus to vote in as the next President of our country. After all, he will not be the first President to lose in an election”

On 24 January 2018, former president Obasanjo wrote a letter to president Buhari accusing his government of nepotism, while commending his war against corruption and lauding his achievements on Boko Haram.

Obasanjo’s letter also included an appeal to president Buhari not to contest re-election in 2019 but to instead “join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom, and outreach can be deployed on the sideline for the good of the country”.

Shrugging off opposition from a previous president, during a national executive council meeting on the morning of April, 9th 2018, President Buhari declared his intention to re-enter the presidential race in 2019 and seek a second term in office as a democratic leader.

This came after much speculation by political players and members of the public about whether or not he was going to run, especially considering his rather late timing.

Reactions to his announcement have been mixed, as many observers think this put a question to his integrity. Buhari said during the 2011 presidential campaigns under the CPC banner that he would never seek a re-election bid should he ever become president.

In 2012, Buhari’s name was included on a list published by Boko Haram of individuals it would trust to mediate between the group and the Federal Government. However, Buhari strongly objected and declined to mediate between the government and Boko Haram.

In 2013, Muhammadu Buhari made a series of statements, when he asked the Federal Government to stop the killing of Boko Haram members and blamed the rise of the terrorist group on the prevalence of Niger Delta militants in the South.

Buhari stated that “what is responsible for the security situation in the country is caused by the activities of Niger Delta militants. The Niger Delta militants started it all”. He also questioned the special treatment including close to $500 million a year paid to 30,000 militants under the amnesty programme since 2013 by the Federal Government and deplored the fact that Boko Haram members were killed and their houses destroyed.

In May 2014, in the wake of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping, Buhari strongly denounced the Boko Haram insurgency. He “urged Nigerians to put aside religion, politics and all other divisions to crush the insurgency he said is fanned by mindless bigots masquerading as Muslims”. In July 2014, Buhari escaped a bomb attack on his life by Boko Haram in Kaduna, 82 people were killed.

In December 2014, Buhari pledged to enhance security in Nigeria, if he wins the general elections on 14 February 2015, which were later rescheduled for 28 March 2015.

Since this announcement, Buhari’s approval ratings reportedly have skyrocketed amongst the Nigerian people (largely due to the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan’s apparent inability to fight Boko Haram’s brutal insurgency). Buhari made internal security and wiping out the militant group one of the key pillars of his campaigning.