Former presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged the leadership of the National Assembly to urgently invite President Muhammadu Buhari to address the lawmakers and the Nigerian public on his administration’s strategies and account of efforts at containing the Coronavirus pandemic and the global economic shock.
The Federal government on Thursday confirmed four new coronavirus cases, bringing to 12, the total number of cases in the country.
The government also said it was tracing 1,300 persons that might have had contact with the positive cases.
But In a press statement made available to journalists through her Spokesperson, Ozioma Ubabukoh, Ezekwesili lamented that it was unfortunate that at a time Nigeria is at war against a rapidly escalating pandemic of Coronavirus and an increasingly distressed, deteriorating and declining economy, the President had refused to perform his duties.
Ezekwesili, who is also a Co-convener of Bring Back Our Girls, criticised President Buhari for his inability to address the nation at this period.
“Fellow citizens, it is grossly irresponsible of Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, to hide away from addressing and assuring his citizens at a time like this when leaders of other nations are doing much more,” Ezekwesili said.
The former Education minister, said that it is grossly incompetent for the President to move around the country declaring events open, while his citizens are affected with the fast accelerating health and economic crises.
Ezekwesili said the National Assembly must act swiftly to wake up the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria to provide the Constitutional leadership he swore to provide, especially when the country faces any kind of war.
According to her, “As a citizen of this country, I demand that the National Assembly, the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives, must in the exercise of their oversight role, immediately invite President Buhari to render account and plans of his stewardship on the pandemic and economic wars the country is thrown into. Do this NOW,”.
“NASS must quickly avert any repeat of President Buhari’s lax counter-terrorism war that has cost the country too many lives.
“A contagion from deadly #CoronaVirus must be avoided immediately. NOW! Nigeria simply cannot afford the implications of an exponential increase in the number of citizens infected by #CoronaVirus. It is insensitive of the President to be mute at a time like this.
“That @followlasg published that it is already contact-tracing 1,300 Nigerians in one way or the other linked to confirmed cases of the disease should worry us.
“Let President Buhari come out of his self-isolation and lead his country and people to win these wars. The economic impact of the health crisis will be severe on our majority’s extremely poor of more than 93 million. President Buhari must be reminded that leadership is not about personal comfort,” she added.
Ezekwesili, who is a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, noted that Nigeria needed nothing less than evident effective leaders.
