Buhari group fires back at ex-APC chieftain, says Jonathan should apologize to Nigerians, not president

A research center dedicated to documenting the ideals of President Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency known as Buhari Phenomenal Leadership Centre has lambasted former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, over his recent call on Nigerians, particularly those who worked against the re-election of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to publicly tender an apology, if the country must move forward.

Frank in a statement issued during the weekend had said unless Nigerians prefer to continue in pretence, the era of former President Goodluck Jonathan managed well the challenge of insecurity compared to what the country has now. 

The former APC Deputy spokesperson had said, “It is obvious now that insecurity in our Nation has gone out of hand. The challenge was limited to a zone under Goodluck Jonathan, but presently no state, including General Buhari’s home state is secured.

“Under Jonathan, Fulani herdsmen were using a stick, but they now carry AK 47. Under Jonathan, lives of Nigerians were more important despite the challenges, but under Buhari, cows are more important than lives. There were a democracy and the rule of law under Jonathan, but it is now the rule of force and impunity. Under Jonathan, National Assembly was active and working but it’s now a rubber stamp.”

Reacting, the pro-Buhari group said Frank and his “gang of detractors” should desist from what it termed as “their shameful antics.”

In a statement by its Director of Media and Strategy, Akindele Aremu, Director of Media and Strategy on Sunday, the group insisted that the apology in question should come from his benefactor, Jonathan under whose administration Nigeria almost went into extinction.

The statement reads: “The Buhari Phenomenal Leadership Centre as a result of this states that while Mr. Timi Frank is free to express himself as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, however, decorum must not be sacrificed at the altar of self-aggrandizement.

“Frank, whose history is replete with controversies, went too far in his hallucination by stating that Nigerians should apologize for making the right choice of voting out an incompetent and corrupt government out of office.

“This is mindful of the fact that Nigerians voted en masse for the candidature of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 because of the failure and near collapse of governance in the country, coupled with the spate of insecurity that saw to the takeover of over 16 local government areas in North-East Nigeria by Boko Haram Terrorist.

“The Buhari Phenomenal Leadership Centre is appalled by the gross insensitivity to the sensibilities of Nigerians by Timi Frank in his poorly prepared statement. It is expected that since the likes of Timi Frank have tried all avenues to remain relevant in the scheme of things in the country by forming the habit of making unfounded and illogical statements in an attempt to attract the public attention that he so craves.

“The Buhari Phenomenal Leadership Centre wishes to state that Timi Frank by this exhibition has indeed confirmed that he is working hand in hand with those that do not wish the country well. Timi Frank is a national Embarrassment to Nigeria and the people of the South-South region in Nigeria.

“It is evident that his statements are side effects of the failure of him to curry favour from the present administration and as such he has constituted himself as a nuisance in the society by making unguarded statements which are often lacking in merit and substance, such as this.

“The Buhari Phenomenal Leadership Centre wishes to sound a note of warning to Mr. Timi Frank and his sponsors to desist from their campaign of calumny against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The act of Timi Frank comparing the administration of Goodluck Jonathan to that of President Muhammadu Buhari is the height of an insult to the millions of Nigerians that suffered untold hardship and deprivation under the PDP years of misrule in Nigeria.

“The likes of Timi Frank also failed to admit that the bulk of the challenges facing Nigeria today were a creation of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. And that Nigerians decided to take their destinies into their own hands by voting Goodluck Jonathan out of office is what Timi Frank and his cahoots have failed to come to terms with.

“This is the time for Timi Frank to desist from his shameful antics because the apology in question should come from his benefactor, Goodluck Jonathan under whose administration Nigeria almost went into extinction.”