By Ihechi Enyinnaya
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated President Muhammadu Buhari for violating his own executive regulation on COVID-19, which provides for 6-months jail term for defaulters.
In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan National Publicity Secretary, the party said it is a huge national embarrassment and gross
failure of leadership that President Buhari, who ought to lead by example, is being reported of publicly violating the COVID-19 rqegulation, which he signed just five days ago.
It is indeed scandalous that while Nigerians are striving to obey the
COVID-19 regulation, which stipulates the compulsory wearing of nose
mask and physical distancing in the public, they are being confronted with reports of open violation of the law by Mr. President at the All
Progressives Congress (APC)’s membership revalidation exercise in his
hometown, Daura, Katsina state on Saturday.
The media is awash with reports and pictures of Mr. President in public,
discussing with his party leaders at the event without putting on a nose
mask or maintaining social distancing as stipulated by the new law.
Such disregard to law and rules, which have characterized the Buhari
Presidency and the APC, is largely responsible for the failure of
leadership under the Buhari-led APC administration in the last five
years.
Moreover, this development has further shown that the Buhari Presidency and the APC are more interested in partisan politics than the health and well-being of our nation.
We ask, with this violation, does the Buhari administration and its
officials still have the rectitude to enforce sanctions on any other
defaulter in the absence of necessary regrets by President Buhari and
his party, the APC?
In this regard the onus lies on President Buhari and the APC to clean up
the mess by tendering an unreserved apology to Nigerians and take steps to observe necessary regrets over this violation.
Furthermore, the PDP, as a law-abiding party, urges Nigerians not to
emulate such examples, but continue to exert themselves in observing all COVID-19 protocols placed to check the spread of the pandemic in our country.