Elder statesman, Edwin Clark, says the President has not said anything different from what he has spoken about in the past in his Independence Day speech.
He stated this on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the nation.
“There’s nothing new in Mr President’s speech. We’ve heard all these before – the increase of power, fighting corruption and corruption fighting back,” the elder statesman said.
He stressed that he expected the President to brief Nigerians on what his administration is doing to tackle the security challenges facing the country.
Clark added that the speech by the President ought to focus more on how to address the issue of unemployment and challenges in the education sector, where over 12 million children are said to be out of school.
According to him, the present administration has yet to record any meaningful progress in security and other areas since 2015.
The elder statesman said, “Insecurity in this country is preventing us to move forward and for four years now, we still have all the challenges we are having in the previous administration.
“Boko Haram, for instance, has not been decimated. Today, we have other various challenges like kidnapping which he (Buhari) mentioned in his address, raping of women, herdsmen problems.”
On the development of the Niger Delta, Clark insisted that the people of the region were being left with their problems.
He noted that the President acknowledged in his speech that there was pollution in the South-Southern region, stressing that the government must step up its efforts in addressing the issue.
“Those of us who come from the Niger Delta; we are being neglected,” he said, adding, “Pollution is going on, I’m happy he (Buhari) also mentioned the Ogoni clean-up.
“Ogoni is not the only place which is being polluted in the Niger Delta. No development in Niger Delta … but we remain patient in the interest of the peaceful co-existence of this country.”