The Presidency has frowned at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attack on President Muhammadu Buhari over the widely praised nomination of the former service chiefs and the head of Military Intelligence to the Senate for confirmation as non-career ambassadors.
According to a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Saturday, the transition of the former heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Military Intelligence is normal in decent democratic societies.
President Buhari had on Feb. 4 forwarded the names of the immediate past Service Chiefs to the Senate as non-career Ambassadors-Designate.
He said: “In accordance with Section 171 (1), (2) (c) & sub-section (4) of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, I have the honour to forward for confirmation by the Senate, the under-listed five (5) names of nominees as Non-Career Ambassadors-Designate.”
The nominees are: retired Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, retired Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, retired Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, and retired AVM Mohammed Usman.
The presidential aide, however, dismissed the position of the opposition party, PDP, on the nominations, wondering how decent people could run down hardworking professionals who served their fatherland with the best of their abilities just to score cheap political goal.
The statement read in part: “But the 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 false 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…
Read the full article at www.vanguardngr.com
Connect with us on our socials: