The Presidential Support Committee (PSC) has faulted Afenifere’s call on President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerians over the usage of the presidential jet by her daughter, Hanan, saying the position of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation was unpatriotic.
Mixed reactions had trailed the use of the presidential jet by a daughter of the president, Hanan, to attend a function in Bauchi State on Thursday, with a section of Nigerians and some interest groups, including Afenifere, condemning the move.
But in a statement by its director of communication and strategic planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the PSC said such negative reactions were uncalled for because constitutionally, Buhari’s daughter shares the same security protection his father enjoys as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Nigeria.
The committee pleaded with the Southwest elders to tread with caution and desist from making utterances that are unbecoming of leaders of thought who ought to be leading light for the younger generation.
Ibrahim said, “Our attention has been drawn to a news report in which the revered pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, was quoted to have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerians over the use of the presidential jet by his daughter, Hanan.
“This is barely 24 hours after the presidency had issued a statement, saying due process was followed in accessing the jet through permission from the president to the NSA who authorised the head of the fleet to take her to where she went to.
“It is our position that the call by Afenifere for the president to apologise to Nigerians in this regard is uncalled for and could be another attempt to rub the Buhari presidency in the mud.
“We, therefore, urge our respected leaders from the Southwest not to allow the enemies of Nigeria to overheat the policy in their usual antics to create bad blood between the government and the good people of our great country”.
On the claim that Nigerians didn’t elect any of the members of the president’s family, PSC argued that members of Buhari’s nuclear family enjoy the same protection.
Ibrahim continued: “There is no country in the world that will bar its president’s children from flying in the presidential jet. It is the same thing as saying children of public officers are not allowed to use their fathers’ official vehicles.
“President Buhari has committed no crime for allowing his daughter access to the presidential jet. A man cannot apologise for an offence he did not committed. It is on this basis that we urge our elders in Afenifere to tread with caution by not encouraging unscrupulous politicians whose past time is to discredit the Buhari administration.”
