You’re a hooligan, FG Hits Back At Sule Lamido

President Muhammadu Buhari has for the umpteenth time demonstrated that he is a leader who doesn’t take comments of his critics with levity. In fact, the presidency had famously described its critics as ‘wailing wailers.’ But in a recent interview, former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, said Buhari’s wife; Aisha and daughter have also joined the ‘wailers’.

Lamido, who also served as foreign affairs minister under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, described Buhari’s fight against corruption as a charade and mere waste of time. He also termed the re-instatement of Maina by the President as a mockery of Nigerians.

But in a swift reaction, Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu has issued a statement on behalf of the presidency condemning comments made by Lamido, who has indicated his intention to contest the 2019 Presidential election under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Garba Shehu’s statement reads: “The Presidency says that the series of interviews by a presidential aspirant, Sule Lamido, each one stepping up attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari over the ongoing war against corruption, is a reflection of the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the opposition in the country.

“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 round 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.

“The nation’s war against corruption spearheaded by EFCC was incidentally formulated by the past PDP administration. 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?

“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.

“In his diatribe published in the Vanguard newspaper 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. 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.”