•••Faults expulsion of Punch Correspondent from Aso Rock
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said Nigerians deserve to know the truth about the health of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The PDP said it is wrong for anyone or group of persons to hide the President “behind the curtain”, and be issuing statements in his name.
The opposition party stated this in a statement yesterday, while reacting to the expulsion of the Punch Newspaper State House Correspondent, Olalekan Adetayo, from the Presidential Villa on Monday, by President Buhari’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Abubakar Bashir.
The statement issued by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said the expulsion of Adetayo from the Presidential Villa was not surprising, “as the nation is gradually tilting towards a full blown dictatorship”. PDP added that it appreciates Buhari’s health challenges and the need for him to have adequate rest to be able to fully tackle the task of governance.
According to the opposition party, “the Punch story is, therefore, nothing extraordinary. It merely reflects what Nigerians already know with, perhaps, a little bit of speculative license. It, therefore, should not have elicited the extreme reaction from the president’s Chief Security Officer.
“The media, as the fourth estate of the realm, is an important pillar of any democracy. Any attempt to gag the press, in whatever guise, is an abridgment of the rights of the people, and a direct assault on our hard earned democracy. We, therefore, totally condemn the action of the President’s CSO.”
“ He must realize that we are in a democracy and not military dictatorship. It is also revealing and shows the lack of synergy in the Villa that a reporter will be expelled without the knowledge or concurrence of the President’s Adviser on Media Relations.”
However, the PDP said it wishes President Buhari speedy recovery and prayed God to grant him all that he needs to fulfil his responsibilities to the country.