The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has strongly demanded the removal of two top information managers in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration over their “continued misinformation of Nigerians and for turning Nigeria into a laughing stock in the international sphere.”
In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, on Sunday, the umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in the country said “the Minister of Information, Lai Muhammed and a Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, are two major liabilities that have contributed to the poor image of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.”
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s Government would have been perceived in a better light without the duo.
“To most Nigerians, the Minister of Information represents a face of misinformation, just like the Presidential Adviser, Garba Shehu, and their responses or reactions to national issues have continued to put the Government’s sincerity in doubt.
“For instance, when did the Minister of Information realise that Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index is unreliable?
“The Minister has been working very hard, albeit unsuccessfully, to discredit the current corruption rating of Nigeria among the most corrupt in the world.
“However, the CNPP recalls that as an opposition spokesman, the Minister had at no time doubted the TI CPI on Nigeria.
“Less than eight years ago, Lai Muhammed described Nigeria’s low corruption rating as a reflection of harvest of corruption scandals under then President Goodluck Jonathan administration, which he claimed was attested to by TI.
“He once urged then President Jonathan to “wake from his slumber and face the reality that corruption is fast eating deep into the soul of Nigeria”, based on low corruption rating.
“How come the Minister of Information is busy trying to discredit an organization he had always hailed as opposition spokesman?
“Nearly five years after, Lai Muhammed, declared that insurgents have been technically defeated, the President Buhari administration has not been able to proactively stopped Boko Haram insurgents, rather, new phases of terrorism like banditry and killer headers activities took a turn for the worse.
“Just like the perception of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration on security has changed, with renewed hope since the sack of the former Service Chiefs, we urge President Buhari to give his administration a fresh breath by firing the two top information managers”, the CNPP said.
