The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Muhamamdu Buhari’s visit to the United Kingdom to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) last week was a colossal waste.

In a statement released in Abuja on Sunday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP said based on the President’s alleged negative comments about Nigerians and his presentations of false performance indices to his hosts, Nigerians were not surprised that he returned on Sunday with no tangible dividend.

The PDP said while other Commonwealth Heads of Government used the opportunity to showcase the potential and opportunities in their various countries, President Buhari only succeeded in de-marketing Nigeria and painting its citizens, especially the youths in a negative light.

“Nigerians may recall that during his meeting with the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, President Buhari in an attempt to hide the failures of his administration and push his 2019 re-election bid, Mr. President downplayed the worsening economic and security situation in the country under his watch, but opted for self praise and brandishing unsubstantiated records of performance.

“This self-serving stance ultimately blocked all beneficial bilateral engagements that could have helped secure the much needed international interventions in critical areas.

“Two days after, the President Buhari again took the stage at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London and announced to international investors that Nigerian youths, a demography that forms the bulk of our nation’s workforce, are uneducated and lovers of freebies.

“We were therefore not surprised that no serious investor sealed any meaningful investment deal with Nigeria as dividend from the CHOGM,” the statement read in part.