The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday traded words over last week’s visit to the United States by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Doing its assessment of Buhari’s visit to Washington, PDP said that nothing beneficial to the country would follow the meeting.

It opined that “the only achievements and change brought by the APC government are the curbing of the fundamental human rights of citizens; engaging in selective application of war against corruption, interfering in the activities of the National Assembly and eroding the independence of INEC.”

“The order of the day has become the crass victimisation and harassment of officials of the immediate past administration,” the party said through a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.

Reacting angrily to the statement, APC said that the PDP cannot provide a virile opposition, describing its criticism as convoluted and hollow statements. It claimed that there had been no government in Nigeria’s recent history that has been as focused and systematic as the one headed by President Buhari.

In a statement by the APC’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Lai Mohammed, the party said: “President Buhari is working hard every day in the priority areas of tackling security and corruption, rebooting the economy to provide jobs for our teeming youths and generally to restore good governance. We are sorry for those who are too blind with hatred to see this.

“The PDP is terrified by the expose of how the Federal Government it led has looted the treasury and created an environment for impunity to thrive, as well as the fate that will befall those who were part of the show of shame and disgust.

“But we assure Nigerians that this government will not interfere with the work of the security and anti-corruption agencies, and also that under the Buhari administration, only the guilty needs to be afraid.”

•Adapted from a Channels TV report.

Update news