The Federal Government has described the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as a primitive and soulless political party which must never be allowed to rule Nigeria again.
The reaction is against the backdrop of the claim by the PDP that the abduction and release of the 110 girls by the terrorists group, Boko Haram, was stage managed by the federal government.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Wednesday, the opposition party said it was very evident that the kidnapping and release of the girls were carried out by the government and the All Progressives Congress, APC, to score a cheap political point ahead of the 2019 general election.
But reacting to the statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,on Thursday, the government said it was obvious that the PDP had not understood its role as an opposition party in a democracy.
He said since the PDP claimed that the abduction and release of the Dapchi girls were stage-managed, it must have been a conspiracy of global proportion because friendly countries and reputable international organisations helped in the negotiation that saw to the release of the girls.
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Mohammed’s statement reads further:
“In its over three years in opposition, the PDP has again shown it does not understand the role of the opposition in a democracy. How then can the PDP convince Nigerians that it has learnt its lessons and that it is ready to rule the country again?
“We broke our own rules this time because the PDP over-reached itself and scored an own goal at a time it could simply have congratulated the government and people of Nigeria on the release of the girls or just keep quiet.
“As we have said many times since the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, no government is exempted from its own share of tragedies.
“What makes the difference is the way such tragedies are managed. Whereas it took the PDP all of 18 days to even acknowledge the abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, the APC Federal Government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted 19 February 2018, hence their quick release.
“Nigerians must say ‘never again’ to this primitive and soulless party.”
