The Democratic Front (TDF) has dismissed the reaction of two leading members of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku and Chief Bode George, to President Bola Tinubu’s working visit to France, saying both of them lack knowledge of the modern approach to governance.
The two members of the opposition had claimed the country was on autopilot because Vice President Kashim Shettima spent a few hours attending an official event at the same time in Senegal.
But in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, TDF described the position of the duo as reactionary, shortsighted and a gross misunderstanding of the intricacies of Statecraft.
“Abubakar Atiku and Bode George should have appreciated the fact that Nigerians were not kept in the dark by the President’s handlers, regarding the official trip to France.
“For us, the President ought to be commended for seeking to audit the performance of his own government in the last two years away from public glare and possible distraction.
“Like a football coach who needed to assess the performance of his players from outside the field of play, we agree that President Tinubu needed some time away from his official environment to enable him to do a dispassionate assessment and appraisal of the performance of the policies of its administration as it approaches the midterm.
“The inability of former Vice-President Abubakar and Chief George to appreciate this simple logic of statecraft has exposed their poor understanding of the modern art of governance about the administrative management of State Affairs.
“We believe that President Tinubu’s trip to France will, in no way, impede the day-to-day running and implementation of public policies and management of the procedural aspect of governance in the country, particularly now, that the whole world is a global village owing to the advent of modern communication technology.
“To this end, we are convinced that the dinosaur mentality of the two PDP chieftains on the workings of a modern government reflects badly on them and shows that they are stuck in the past.
“It is our conclusion that both men still relish their past experiences in government several decades ago. They are indeed out of touch to think that the coincidental absence of the vice president from the country, albeit for a few hours, would have created a vacuum or placed the nation on autopilot.
” President Bola Tinubu’s decision to assess the midterm performance of his government from a private location in France is a move to appraise the strategic and tactical aspect of government, which is within his basic prerogative as Nigeria’s President.
“This aspect of statecraft does not conflict with governance through implementation of public policies and programmes by Ministers and Heads of Agencies, or the enforcement of law and order by security agencies within the streamlined directives of the President. ”
TDF urged Nigerians to ignore the two opposition figures but continue to support the Tinubu administration in its quest to build a more resilient economy.
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