The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised the Federal Government over what it described as a troubling communication failure that saw the United States announce a terrorist strike carried out in Nigeria before Nigerian authorities informed the public.
The party said Nigerians first learned about the operation
through verified social media accounts of former United States President Donald
Trump and other American officials, while Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
issued a statement several hours later that merely acknowledged awareness and
cooperation.
The PDP said the sequence of events raises serious concerns
about sovereignty, transparency and public trust.
The criticism was contained in a statement signed by the
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Comrade Ini Ememobong, on Friday.
“Nigerians were notified of the American strike on
terrorists’ assets through the verified social media pages of President Trump
and other American officials before the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs issued a vague statement many hours later, offering a passive
confirmation of the knowledge and cooperation of the Nigerian Government in the
operation,” Ememobong said.
While recognising the value of global partnerships in
tackling terrorism, the PDP said such cooperation must not come at the expense
of Nigeria’s authority or effective communication with its citizens.
“While international cooperation in the fight against high
crimes like terrorism is very much appreciated, the Peoples Democratic Party is
deeply concerned about a communication structure where foreign powers break the
news of security operations in our country before our government does,”
Ememobong lamented.
The opposition party said the development was even more
worrying given past reports of foreign military activity within Nigeria without
clear public knowledge or approval.
The PDP argued that the Federal Government should have taken
the lead in informing citizens about the operation in order to manage public
perception and prevent uncertainty.
“The Federal Government should have been the first to report
the news in order to properly sensitize the Nigerian populace, instead of
waiting to confirm news already in public circulation, unless they were taken
unawares like the rest of the citizens,” it maintained.
The party further called for a review of Nigeria’s defence
engagements with the United States, urging a shift towards arrangements that
strengthen local capacity rather than reliance on external military actions.
“We urge the Federal Government to ensure that the defence
agreement with the United States of America includes joint operations, which
will ultimately result in knowledge sharing and experiential learning to help
Nigeria sustainably combat insecurity, rather than full externally-led
‘precision attacks’,” Ememobong appealed.
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