Buhari didn't deserve to be President -- Ezekwesili

BUHARI DIDN’T DESERVE TO BE PRESIDENT —
EZEKWESILI
• Go and contest if you want to replace
Buhari —Presidency
THE Convener of Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG)
and former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby
Ezekwesili, on Saturday, said President
Muhammadu Buhari didn’t deserve to be
president, due to his lackadaisical attitude to
the plight of the 2000 Nigeria Immigration
Service recruits, who slept at the entrance of
Aso Villa in Abuja from Friday till Saturday
morning.
But the Presidency in its reaction challenged
the former minister to run for presidency
and take over from President Buhari.
We recall that NIS recruits were trained on
weapons handling and dispersed on August
20, 2015 from their various camps,
following a circular, which emanated from
the NIS headquarters in Abuja, directing
them to go on two weeks break. Since then,
they have not been recalled to their
respective camps.
Ezekwesili, while appealing to the protesters
to maintain decorum, also challenged
President Buhari to come out and publicly
address the alleged illegal recruitment which
has permeated his administration in the last
couple of months, saying “that was not the
change Nigerians voted for.”
According to her, “you are great Nigerians.
So, you slept here, Oh my God! Inside this
cold of Abuja. Somebody holds you a better
explanation, and if President Muhammadu
Buhari says he doesn’t know that you slept
here since yesterday, it means he doesn’t
deserve to be there.
“This government should not punish those
who did not deserve to be punished.
Nothing should be done secretly. This is not
the change Nigerians voted for. President
Buhari should come out and address the
allegation of illegal recruitment going on in
the civil service,” she added.
She further alleged that the Federal
Government was employing those who did
not have knowledge, skills and required
literacy through the backdoor into civil
service without minding the consequence,
while promising to join the recruits until
their demands were acceded to by President
Buhari.
Ezekwesili stated that the impunity
Nigerians fought during the immediate past
administration has resurfaced in the present
administration of the All Progressives
Congress (APC).
She frowned on the situation in which the
underprivileged were being subjected to
hardship before they could be employed
into the civil service, pointing out that only
the children of members of the National
Assembly, Federal Executive Council and
bigwigs in the country were gainfully
employed, even without merit.
Also speaking, another convener, Mrs Aisha
Yesufu said the immediate past
administration deserved to be commended
for redeeming its image by employing the
recruits, wondering why President Buhari,
who promised ‘change’ had subjected the
youth who had undergone rigorous
trainings, especially in weapons handling, to
such humiliation.
Some of the other protesters, Godwin Ladi
Mercy, Adeleye Adejoke, Salomi Yohanna and
Usman Ugbede Yusuf, condemned
government action, saying the Federal
Government should not refer to the 2,000
youths as applicants, because they have
been given provisional offer of
appointments, NIS uniforms, identification
cards and posted to various commands
nationwide.
As of the time of filing this report, the
protesters, who slept at the entrance of the
Villa till Saturday, have vowed to remain
there, until the president or any of his aides
comes out to address them.
While reacting, the Senior Special Assistant
to the president on media and publicity,
Garba Shehu, advised Ezekwesili to form a
political party to run for presidency if she
felt Buhari was not doing well.
He told Sunday Tribune in Abuja that if she
did so and won the election, Buhari would
hand over to her.
Asked to react to Ezekwesili’s claims, Shehu
said: “Did I hear you say that Madam
Ezekwesili said President Muhammadu
Buhari is not fit to be in that office?
“That is a political statement. What I will
advise her to do is to come out of the
shadow of the grieving Chibok parents,
register a political party and go into the
election against the APC and President
Muhammadu Buhari.
“If she thinks she is a better person to be in
that office, let her present herself to the
Nigerian people in an election. She has the
right to do so under our constitution.”
“The issue of democracy is that there is a
right to vote and be voted for. If anybody
thinks that they can do a better job than
President Muhammadu Buhari as president
of Nigeria, let them go and run for the office
to win election and take over.”