The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the prosecution of Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID19, Boss Mustapha and other government officials over flouted the social distancing order while attending the burial of the late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, last Saturday April 18.
In a statement released this afternoon, the party said that the apology tendered by Mustapha over the violation of health safety and social restriction directives during the funeral, came after widespread condemnation of their conduct.
The party said it is quite unfortunate that those who make and enforce rules over ordinary Nigerians were found directly violating the same rules with impunity, thereby compromising the efforts to check the spread of the pandemic in our country.
Our party holds that the SGF and other government officials including PTF members ought to have shown respect to the memory of Mallam Kyari by conducting themselves in a manner that should have served as a guide to other Nigerians in the fight against COVID-19.
This, therefore, is not an act that an apology by the SGF will serve as enough, as it does not drive home the issue at stake to the public as well as to government officials. Consequently, the PDP charges the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) authorities, in line with its actions against ordinary Nigerians who had flouted the rules, to immediately prosecute all government functionaries involved in this violation.
Nigerians had all watched how the FCT prosecuted residents at various mobile courts across the territory. Justice would therefore only be done and of course, seen to have been done, if the FCT toes the same line in this instance.
Nigeria as a nation is governed by the constitution in which all Nigerians are deemed equal before the law. Our officials must learn to respect rules made and enforced by them, particularly at this trying time” the statement in part read.
