The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) said President Muhammadu Buhari could have achieved more in his administration if he had been following up on his appointees and monitoring the people he gave responsibilities.

Assessing the president’s eight year-tenure expected to end on May 29, 2023, Olusegun Mobolaji, the Lagos State IPAC chairman, told journalists that the president, however, got some things right.

Mr Mobolaji said Mr Buhari gave too much free hand to appointees to operate without looking back to check on them and fire the under-performing ones.

He said some of the president’s appointees never shared the same ideals and philosophies with him in terms of economy and anti-corruption fight.

“Buhari could have achieved more if he had been following up on his appointees and monitoring the people he gave responsibilities to.

“President Buhari didn’t monitor some of his appointees very well to make sure they keep track of his ideals and philosophies for seeking the highest office in the land.

“Our president gave appointees too much free hands to operate without looking back; this is not good enough,” he said.

Mr Mobolaji applauded Mr Buhari for improving democracy and electoral processes, especially during the last general elections.

According to him, the president’s assent to the 2022 New Electoral Laws brought a lot of positive things to Nigeria’s democracy and elections.

“The president got some things right. We can commend the president for not meddling with most of the political issues prior to the last general elections.

“He (Buhari) allowed democracy to play out. He allowed the rule of law; he didn’t influence anything as far as it has to do with general democracy,” the IPAC boss said.

According to him, the president also tried a little in the area of fighting corruption as well as security.

Mobolaji said, “Though we cannot say corruption did not still thrive under him, we can see that some corrupt persons were docked in this government while others paid for some of the atrocities they committed.

“The president tried his bit even though we still have a lot of corruption going on in the system. Some people were brought to book one way or the order.”

Similarly, the IPAC boss said too many loans taken by the outgoing government were yet to reflect in the living conditions of Nigerians.

“We still don’t understand the impact of many of the loans taken.

“To us stakeholders, with all the loans, we should be boasting of at least a single refinery to face the challenges we have in the oil and gas and economy sectors.

“What would the future have looked like if Alhaji Aliko Dangote had not built the refinery newly inaugurated by the president’s government? It is a challenge that is impoverishing our nation and should have been addressed headlong,” he said.

(NAN)