Major General Muhammadu Buhari – In its second reaction within a few hours to an editorial by Punch newspaper, the presidency has attacked the newspaper, accusing it of playing to the gallery and causing confusion.
Punch Newspaper in its editorial published on Wednesday criticized the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for its disobedience to court orders.
PREMIUM TIMES has also reported several cases of disobedience of court orders by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
In an editorial titled ‘Buhari’s lawlessness: Our stand,’ Punch said it would henceforth refer to the president by his last military title when he ruled Nigeria as a military dictator.
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“As a symbolic demonstration of our protest against autocracy and military-style repression, PUNCH (all our print newspapers, The PUNCH, Saturday PUNCH, Sunday PUNCH, PUNCH Sports Extra, and digital platforms, most especially Punchng.com) will henceforth prefix Buhari’s name with his rank as a military dictator in the 80s, Major General, and refer to his administration as a regime, until they purge themselves of their insufferable contempt for the rule of law,” it wrote.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how a presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, earlier on Wednesday reacted to the newspaper, one of the most read in Nigeria.
Mr Adesina’s reaction suggested the presidency was unperturbed by the editorial.
“Rather than being pejorative, addressing President Buhari by his military rank is another testimony to free speech and freedom of the press, which this administration (or regime, if anyone prefers: it is a matter of semantics) has pledged to uphold and preserve,” he wrote.
Hours later, however, another presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, released a more lengthy statement attacking the newspaper.
“Punch Newspaper’s double standards in cuddling some of our past dictators and their open contempt for President Buhari clearly show that the paper has sinister motives for its current curious editorial judgment. Its personal hatred for and animus towards President Buhari should not be allowed to becloud its good judgment,” Mr Shehu wrote.
