The opposition People’s Democratic Party has criticized President Buhari for reportedly violating the COVID 19 regulations which he signed last week.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, described the President’s action as a national embarrassment and leadership failure on the part of the President.
He said that it was unfortunate that the President who signed an executive order prescribing a six-month jail term for offenders of the COVID Protocols will violate it five days after.
He stated that the President was sighted without face masks and observing the requisite social distancing in public at the All Progressives Congress membership validation exercise in Daura, Katsina State on Saturday.
He said that the President’s action only showed that the he and APC leadership were only interested in partisan politics to the detriment of the health of the nation.
The PDP Spokeman said that the President and his party leaders should apologize to Nigerians for the violation of the COVID regulations as the government lacked the moral strength to enforce the COVID 19 regulations.
He said, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed dismay over President Muhammadu Buhari’s reported violation of his own executive regulation on COVID-19, which provides for 6-months jail term for defaulters.
“The PDP asserts that it is a huge national embarrassment and gross failure of leadership that President Buhari, who ought to lead by example, is being reported of publicly violating the COVID-19 regulation, which he signed just five days ago.
“It is indeed scandalous that while Nigerians are striving to obey the COVID-19 regulation, which stipulates the compulsory wearing of nose mask and physical distancing in the public, they are being confronted with reports of open violation of the law by Mr. President at the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s membership revalidation exercise in his hometown, Daura, Katsina state on Saturday.
“The media is awash with reports and pictures of Mr. President in public, discussing with his party leaders at the event without putting on a nose mask or maintaining social distancing as stipulated by the new law.
“Such disregard to law and rules, which have characterized the Buhari Presidency and the APC, is largely responsible for the failure of leadership under the Buhari-led APC administration in the last five years.
“Moreover, this development has further shown that the Buhari Presidency and the APC are more interested in partisan politics than the health and wellbeing of our nation.
“We ask, with this violation, does the Buhari administration and its officials still have the rectitude to enforce sanctions on any other defaulter in the absence of necessary regrets by President Buhari and his party, the APC?
“In this regard the onus lies on President Buhari and the APC to clean up the mess by tendering an unreserved apology to Nigerians and take steps to observe necessary regrets over this violation.”
He called on Nigerians not to emulate the example by the President and his party members but to keep observing the COVID 19 protocol to curb its spread in the country.