The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday defended the donations made to the United Nations office in Abuja, over the October 2010 bombing, stating that no amount of compensation would be enough to ameliorate terror scare.
The party said rather than condemn the humanitarian act of assisting the UN, President Goodluck Jonathan should be commended.
The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) had recently stated that: “On the first year anniversary of the bombed UN building, the government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan provided N3.2 billion to rehabilitate the UN house, made up of N2.6 billion to start the building and N600 million to provide temporary accommodation, in addition to promised refund of $580,000 for the treatment of victims. It did not really matter to this profligate PDP-led government that the UN, in its world-wide operations, has comprehensive insurance for its buildings and workers, even against terrorism.”
But the PDP added that it doubted the veracity of the figures released by the CPC, stating that it had become necessary to educate the CPC that in terror related cases, “no amount compensation is enough to compensate the victims of terror for their loss and suffering which is why responsible governments always ensure that victims receives as much compensation as possible.”
A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, said: “If the CPC wants to betray its ignorance in diplomacy and government, it should do so on its own dime and not in a way that demeans Nigeria before the international community as it has done by this unseemly criticism of the victims.”
The statement added: “Many in the international community will indeed be wondering why the CPC does not have harsh words for the propagators of terror but choose to use its words against the victims and the government which aligns with them. Since the advent of terror attacks in Nigeria, we do not have the CPC on record anywhere condemning them.”
“Nigerians to note that the UN are in Nigeria as guests of the government and people of Nigeria to whom they have been offering selfless service for decades and it is most undiplomatic and unAfrican for any one, least of all a party that aspires to national governance, to criticise a gesture aimed at providing succour to a body such as the UN, which suffered from terrorism while in the service of Nigerians.”
The party noted that one ought to have expected the condemnation to go instead to those who perpetrated the act of terrorism rather than the government that was trying to right a wrong.
-Thisday