By Mohammed Mohammed
For intruding into the affairs of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19: an area where he appears to have taken ignorance to higher height, the Presidency on Friday lampooned Senator Ali Ndume, asking him to hold his peace or better still remain quiet.
The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, while describing Ndume as a discounted politician in a statement made available to the media, said it is disappointing for Ndume to accuse government officials of transgressions without verifiable evidence.
According to him, when President Muhammadu Buhari was first elected in 2015, he made it clear that he belonged to everybody and belonged to nobody. What was true then remains true today, he added.
He said: “Buhari believes in public service, as a servant of the people – and he expects the exact same commitment from members of his government and, of course, his closest aides.
“The President has made it clear times without number that anyone who will not, cannot, or does not pull his weight – nor meet these exacting standards, is not welcome in his administration. A number of ranking officials have been shown the way out at various times simply on account of this.
“Similarly, he believes in loyalty and truthfulness. Should any individuals be found to be serving themselves and not the people, then it is right and proper to call them out. But this must be done on the basis of evidence and proof – not on conjecture.”
Shehu, said it is therefore disappointing to hear a politician call out unnamed individuals in the administration and accuse them of unnamed transgressions.
If this politician has evidence – then he should make public their identities as well as his proof. Innuendo is not proof, he stressed.
“Similarly, simply claiming that the COVID-19 palliative measures Committee is not functioning as it should is not the same as presenting proof for such a claim.
“No one replaces an institutional government body in the midst of the global pandemic without clear and irrefutable evidence that it needs replacing.
“A press briefing from a discontented politician is rarely the source of such evidence.” He said.
According to Shehu, at this difficult time of the battle by Nigeria against Coronavirus, everyone should help the fight and not seek to make political capital out of it, whatever his or her grievances.