The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has charged the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) authorities to prosecute all government functionaries involved in the violation of the COVID-19 protocol during the burial of former Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari in Abuja.
In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiya, the party said that the apology by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Boss Mustapha, on the violation of heath safety and social restriction directives by certain government officials was unacceptable.
The party said that the apology came after widespread condemnation of the conduct of such government officials and other individuals at the funeral, describing as unfortunate the fact 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.
It also stated 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” the party argued.
PDP then charged 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 party said.
PDP however urged Nigerians not to allow this development to make them lose faith in the overall mutli-sectoral effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
