Buhari’s CSO’s expulsion of reporter, a move towards fascism –PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the action of Abubakar Bashir, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Muhammadu Buhari who unilaterally expelled a reporter from the Presidential Villa is a move towards fascism.

The National Publicity Secretary, of the Ahmed Makarfi’s led faction of the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye stated this in a statement made available in Tuesday.

He said, “We received the news on the expulsion of Olalekan Adetayo, the Punch Newspaper Reporter and Chairman of Press Corps at the Presidential Villa by Abubakar Bashir, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Muhammadu Buhari but it did not come to us as a surprise given that the Nation is gradually tilting towards full blown dictatorship. Adetayo’s offense we heard, was his report by the weekend titled: ‘Fresh anxiety at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa over Buhari’s health’.

“The PDP acknowledges Mr. President’s health challenges; and as a human being and an elder Statesman, we quite understand the need for him to have adequate rest and continuous medical attention. We are therefore not too surprised that the President has not in recent times been able to fully face the rigours of government and has to make very rare public appearances.

Read also: PRESIDENCY: Why frustrated elite are resisting Buhari’s anti-corruption war

“This is pretty obvious to all Nigerians. The Punch Story is therefore nothing extraordinary. It merely reflects what Nigerians already know with perhaps a little bit of speculative license. It therefore should not have elicited the extreme reaction from the President’s Chief Security Officer.

“The Media as the fourth estate of the realm is an important pillar of any democracy. Any attempt to gag the Press in whatever guise is an abridgment of the rights of the people and a direct assault on our hard earned democracy.

“We therefore totally condemn the action of the President’s CSO. He must realize that we are in a democracy and not military dictatorship. It is also revealing and shows the lack of synergy in the Villa that a reporter will be expelled without the knowledge or concurrence of the President’s Adviser on Media Relations.

“For the upteenth time, we want to re-iterate that Nigerians deserve to know the health condition of their President. No one has the right or power to hide the President behind the curtain while dishing out instructions to Nigerians in the name of the President.

“We join all well meaning Nigerians to wish the President a speedy recovery and pray that the Lord Almighty will grant all that is required for him to fulfill his responsibilities to our dear Country’ he stated.

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now