Presidency: Lamido’s Criticism of Buhari, Reflection of PDP’s Moral Bankruptcy

Omololu Ogunmade
The Presidency at the weekend described the attacks by a presidential aspirant on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sule Lamido on President Muhammadu Buhari over the ongoing war against corruption as “a reflection of the intellectual and moral bankruptcy” of the PDP.

A statement by Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in reaction to an interview granted by the former Jigawa State governor at the weekend, alleged a grand plan by politicians to destroy national institutions such as the courts, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other symbols of the society.

While mocking Lamido on the basis of charges of corruption against him, Garba said: “It is only in Nigeria that a leader will divert money belonging to the public into his children’s account, then turns round to start pontificating on public morals, in the process subjecting the nation’s honest leadership to daily attacks based on falsehood.
“It is even worse that such a person, facing criminal prosecution will start going around saying he wants to be president. Is this not one of the reasons why other countries are laughing at Nigeria? This is hooliganism. It is not opposition politics.

He recalled a statement by Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) that “the nation’s war against corruption spearheaded by EFCC was incidentally formulated by the past PDP administration,” adding: “It is a tragic irony that the leaders of the same party are doing their utmost to weaken or destroy it. Watch it. Is that why he is seeking to lead the country?”
Garba added: “Time and again, President Buhari had lamented that strongmen had destroyed the country’s strong institutions and that it will take strong men to rebuild them. He deserves the support of everyone to rebuild such institutions because they serve a common good.”

He appealed to opposition politicians to give Buhari the required support he needs to rebuild national institutions such as the EFCC and challenged Lamido to convince Nigerians that his protracted attacks on the federal government and the judiciary were not meant to frustrate his prosecution.
“In his diatribe published in the national daily last week, it is clear that the former governor not only set out to mock the President but the judiciary and important national institutions as part of an orchestrated plot to divert public attention from his scam related cases.

“If President Buhari’s war against corruption as he said, was a mockery, what does one say of Governor Lamido’s sworn efforts to sabotage the country’s efforts to rid itself of the cancer of corruption? If accountability of public officials is the very essence of a mature democracy, it is indeed ironic that a politician seeking the leadership of the country is making a mockery of institutions and leaders seeking to entrench that.

“As a country, Nigeria settled for President Buhari not just as President but the watchman of people’s wealth. The citizens are happy with that and the whole world is applauding. The African Union, the AU just named him as the champion of the war against corruption. Opposition politicians like Governor Lamido need to come to terms with the fact that their act needs updating,” he stated.