A former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke, has advised President Bola Tinubu to avoid governing on personal whims, stating that doing so would undermine institutional integrity.
Frank Nweke Jr said this in reaction to the release of the 76 minors arraigned for treason for their participation in the August hunger protest following criticisms of the administration.
In a statement, on Tuesday, he maintained that the minors should not have been subjected to the inhuman condition of detention for 93 days and an unjustifiable trial.
“The presidency’s about-turn to release the detained minors accused of treason only last week suggests a governance of personal whims that undermine institutional integrity.
“Those minors should never have been kept in custody for 93 days. Yet, the responsible agencies and institutions have not been held accountable, nor has an investigation into the entire debacle been ordered,” Nweke Jr said.
The former All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Enugu State governorship candidate argued that the presidential handover of the minors to Kaduna and Kano State governments by Vice President Kashim Shettima was a mere distraction.
The former Minister of Information regretted that Nigeria’s democracy has been turned into a one-man show under the current administration.
“The photo-ops and overcompensating act of an official handover to the state governors may have been designed to buy goodwill after the uproar from the public. But they are mere distractions from the erosion of democratic principles in the country.
“Nigeria’s democracy has become a one-man show where personal freedoms, the rule of law, and separation of powers are completely disregarded, and personal whims override the public good,” he added.