The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised the federal government’s communication structure following the military airstrike carried out by the United States against terrorists in Nigeria.
The PDP, in a statement on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, submitted that the government failed to properly inform Nigerians, and it was the American government that first disclosed details of the security operation.
It added that the subsequent statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was too vague and did not offer insight to Nigerians about what transpired on their own soil.
While the PDP welcomed international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, it maintained that the government should have been the first to report the news in order to properly sensitize the Nigerian populace and avoid reliance on social media reports.
It also warned that such international operations must not compromise Nigeria’s sovereignty and security architecture.
The full statement, titled, “US STRIKE ON TERRORISTS: FG SHOULD COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY,” reads, “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.
“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.
“This inverted communication approach does not help the Federal Government or Nigerians in any way, especially when taken against the background that the US military has been reported to have previously entered and operated in Nigeria successfully without the permission and knowledge of the government.
“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.
“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’.”