Zamfara Visit: PDP Exhibiting Ignorance, Says Buhari’s Aide, Garba Shehu

The Presidency has lambasted the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for allegedly exhibiting lack of understanding of Presidential movement schedules despite its 16-year run of the federal government.

The Presidency was reacting to the PDP’s criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari’s inability to keep date with his scheduled visit to Zamfara State last week Thursday, owing to bad weather.

The PDP had made an issue out of the cancellation of the Zamfara visit despite the explanation by the Presidency why it was not practicable, suggesting that the President chickened out for security reasons, adding that he could have traveled by road to meet up with the visit.

However, in a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday, the Presidency lamented the trivialisation of the role of opposition politicking by the PDP, noting that its criticism on the Zamfara cancelled visit was either borne out of mischief or ignorance.

“Criticism of the President, in particular the one by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for not proceeding with the journey, Sokoto-Gusau by road, a distance of about 200 kilometres shows, either a lack of understanding of presidential movements especially for a party that held that office for sixteen years, or an act that smacks of mischief. Whatever be the case, there must be a limit to trivialization.

“All over the world, Commanders-in-Chief, serving or even those that have left office cannot hop into a car and go anywhere they want, at any time of the day. In the United States for instance, a law going as far back as 1958 prevents past Presidents from traveling on public roads without assured security (how much more of serving Presidents).

“When roads are closed for presidential movements here and elsewhere, consideration is also given to the safety of other road users, not just that of the President or even Governor.

“The statement on the issue by the PDP attacking the President for not making it to Gusau without this being planned ahead of the journey is shameful and disgraceful for a party that held the presidency of the country in the past. What is their own record?

“It is sad for the country that the bankruptcy of issues has forced the PDP, so-called leading opposition party, to hang on to life by only telling lies. And their caravan of falsehood has moved even more speedily following the inauguration of their not-so-new national executive at the end of last year.

“It is equally important that local political actors who have seized upon the cancellation of the visit to describe it as a victory for this or that faction of the party, accompanied by songs, lyrics and videos to know that their joy is a short lived one. As he promised in that broadcast, the visit to Gusau by the President is only a matter of time.

“Given the right conditions of the weather and all other things, he will return, and in time to accomplish his mission”, the statement said.

Providing more insight into why it was not practicable for the President to have proceeded with the journey, the Presidency said the haze that took the airspace on the day was far lower than the standard visibility requirement if 1000 kilometres.

“The Presidency wishes to give a further clarification on the circumstances of bad weather which forced the cancellation of the visit to Zamfara State on Thursday of President Muhammadu Buhari in spite of the great interest generated nationwide on the planned visit.

“As briefly explained by the President in a special broadcast to the people of the state, the sudden deterioration of the weather was the sole and only reason for the cancellation of the visit.

“It is not unusual for flights to get cancelled when there is bad weather, whether this is arising from wind or rainstorm, fog or haze as we had it on Thursday over much of the northern towns including Gusau, capital of Zamfara State. Many of these cities are known to suffer from low visibility during the harmattan season as we are now in.

“A kilometre of visibility is usually a standard landing minimum requirement but in the case of Gusau on the day in question, this minimum requirement of 1,000 meter was down, fluctuating between 300-400 meters. Clearly, this was unsafe in the absence of precise instrument approaches that provide guidance for the pilots. The flights into Gusau were, in view of this, cancelled,” the statement said.

On Friday, the PDP had rejected the poor weather explanation given for the cancellation of the visit, saying that if President Buhari meant well, he could have made the journey by road from Sokoto to Gusau.

“We ask did Mr. President cancel the trip to Zamfara State out of fear of terrorists? Was Mr. President, an Army General, with all the security apparatus under his command afraid to travel by road because he was not sure of his security as well as the dilapidated state of our roads under his watch?

“From Sokoto to Gusau, the Zamfara State capital is about 206 kilometers, a journey a leader who has the interest of the people at heart and who is sure of his security could have undertaken by road.

“President Buhari ought to have reassured Nigerians by travelling to Gusau, instead he opted for a video broadcast in which he promised the troubled people of the state that he looks ‘forward to a more weather-friendly period when I will visit’.

“This is another sad demonstration of the President leading from behind against his own promise and commitment to Nigerians to lead from the front in the fight against terrorism,” the PDP had said.