Presidency on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to Lagos in the wake of killings by bandits in other parts of the country was significant in the fight against insecurity.
He said the president was not only in Lagos for the book launch of former acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bisi Akande.
Many Nigerians and critics had frowned at the visit of the president to Lagos, days after bandits killed many Nigerians, including burning some alive in Sokoto.
Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity said the critics, especially the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP made attempts to trivialise the visit for cheap political goals.
He also condemned what he called the recruitment of some religious leaders by the PDP to tarnish the good image of the president over the visit.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Shehu highlighted the significance of Buhari’s visit to Lagos State.
“On Dec. 9, in Lagos, President Muhammadu Buhari launched a made-in-Nigeria Naval defence ship, NNS Oji.
“He and others inducted other vital military assets that improved the country’s capabilities to fight increased piracy in the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.
Shehu added that while in Lagos the president also graced the launch of an autobiography by Chief Bisi Akande, pioneer Fourth Republic governor of Osun State.
He described Akande as a leader who played a crucial role in keeping democratic opposition to military rule alive.
Akande later played a critical role in the development and ultimate unity of that opposition to create today’s All Progressives Congress.
“Without visionaries such as Bisi Akande, the corrupt PDP and its acolytes who have done so much to strip our nation of its wealth, stunt its growth, and subject it to derogation abroad would still be in office.
“Of course, those in the PDP who have nothing positive or new to add to the debate about the future of the nation seek to trivialise the president’s Lagos visit.
“They choose to ignore the crucial launch of the naval vessels; they suggest the primary reason for going to Lagos was to attend a book launch.
“They try to make further mileage by claiming the president should not have attended given the attack by bandits elsewhere in the country that same day.
“Should the president not have launched the naval ships the day after that attack? Should he listen to the PDP who feign concern for those affected by banditry when they did nothing to combat it for decades – not on land or at sea?
“Should our famously austere president not attend a book launch of his friend and fellow democratic opposition veteran when it coincided with a visit to Lagos to tend the affairs of state?
“Through their attacks, the PDP revealed their priorities.
“Of course, for decades, as the PDP enjoyed their decadent parties at others’ expense, the navy and the armed forces rotted through negligence,’’ he added.
