Buhari, Not Ortom, Spreading Hatred Among Nigerians – PDP

President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged “divisive tendencies and unconcealed nepotism” have divided Nigerians along different fault lines more than ever, says the Peoples Democratic Party. 

According to the PDP,  President Buhari has consistently spread hatred among Nigerians through his “hate language”. 

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The opposition party said this while reacting to a statement recently issued by the president’s senior media assistant, Garba Shehu, where the aide accused Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, of inciting Nigerians through divisive comments. 

Shuhu had accused Ortom of inciting “Christians against Muslims” and “farmers against herders” after the governor opposed the president’s move to revive 368 grazing reserves in 25 states in the country.

Ortom had accused Buhari of planning to turn Nigeria into a “Cow Republic” while turning a blind eye to the “unimaginable levels of encroachment” on lands belonging to citizens by cattle.

Backing Ortom on his claim, the PDP described the governor as a “highly principled and forthright leader” who is loved by his people. 

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Speaking in a statement issued by its national spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP described the Presidency’s response to Ortom as “a bitter personal attack”, while also faulting the reference made to “genocides in Rwanda” in Shehu’s statement. 

Ologbondiyan said, “The PDP recalls how the Buhari Presidency has been planting seeds of discord in the country with hate language, divisive tendencies and unconcealed nepotism, to the extent that our nation has become widely divided along all fault lines.

“Nigerians have not forgotten how President Buhari, ahead of the 2011 general elections declared that “if what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood”.

“Moreover, Nigerians can recall how Mr. President tagged those whom he believed did not vote for him; how he described citizens as “dot in a circle,” as well as the hate language that attracted sanctions by Twitter.

“It is rather alarming that instead of taking steps to address the killings in Benue state as well as the worsening insecurity, carnages, banditry, terrorism and imminent humanitarian crisis in the country, the Buhari Presidency is thinking of Rwandan Genocide while exposing its deep-seated detestation for Governor Ortom.

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“Governor Ortom is a highly principled and forthright leader, who is loved not only in Benue, but also across the nation. The PDP urges Nigerians to hold the Buhari Presidency responsible should any harm come to him or his family members.

“As a party, the PDP demands that the Buhari Presidency should come clean on its handling of insecurity in the country. This is particularly against the backdrop of its manifest failure to battle and rout out terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and marauders that have taken over our highways, forests, pillaging communities and killing Nigerians on daily basis.

“Under President Buhari’s lethargic regime, bandits and terrorists have become so emboldened that they now attack military formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) where they killed and kidnapped officers for ransom.

“The PDP therefore calls on President Buhari to rein in his aides, wake up from his slumber and decisively address the worsening insecurity in the country under his watch.” 

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