PDP Should Stop Defaming President Buhari’s Former Service Chiefs – Presidency

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina has criticized the United States’ government for placing Nigeria on the Special Watchlist of countries violating religious freedom.

The Presidency has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) ‘attack’ over the nomination of the former heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Military Intelligence to the Senate for confirmation as non-career ambassadors.

According to the presidency, this transition is normal in decent democratic societies.

In a statement on Saturday, special media aide to the president, Mr. Femi Adesina frowned at the fact that newspapers and online media are full of pages of ‘laughable’ criticisms of the President and former Service Chiefs by the party, the latest of which was the claim that they were nominated as ambassadors so as to shield them from trial by the International Criminal Court, ICC.

“How on earth can decent people run down hardworking professionals who have put in their best to defend their country? How can you run down your country and equate that with normal political dialogue and opposition?

“What is baffling about this false and baseless assertion is that this is coming, not from Boko Haram terrorists who the military kept largely in check and confined to a known section of the country, Sambisa, but from a so-called leading opposition party that fraudulently kept power for 16 years and is nursing the hope of one day returning to office as an elected government.

“What is more, under these corrupt politicians the insurgency conquered large swathes of territory-18 Local Government Areas.

“Pray, if a political party, in a blind search for power can spurn the interest of the nation, embrace the language of hate campaign against the country’s military as enunciated by the terrorists, as the PDP does, what will be left for the Boko Haram to do? PDP is doing Boko Haram’s work!” Adesina’s statement read in part.

The presidency’s spokesman argued that we live in an evidence-based era for arguments and asked the PDP to provide evidence of rights abuse against the military in the war against terrorists.

Adesina asked: “Wouldn’t it be beneficial to the nation that they publish such evidence instead of levying grave accusations without proves? And to ask, in whose interest are they making these accusations that lack any depth?”

He said the ICC does not need to be lectured on democratic values and human rights by the PDP.

“Who are they, and what is their record in office to lecture anyone? Zaki Biam and Odi where thousands of citizens were on record, the genocide operation comes to mind. Did they report themselves to the ICC?”

Adesina said PDP’s attacks on the ambassadorial nominations should be seen in the context of the opposition party’s track record as a university of liars, whose modus operandi is to propagate lies.

In his opinion, the President is rewarding hard work and exceptional sacrifice by a set of military leaders who gave their best to the nation and will be remembered, sooner than later, for their contributions to the security and survival of Nigeria as one nation.

The special media aide said they (former service chiefs) should be allowed to move to the next level as this is so that their examples will help to inspire others if given the opportunity to serve.