- Presidency has replied Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Rt. Fr. Stephen Mamza's over comment on Buhari
- Bishop Mamza had accused President Buhari of sleeping on duty over northeast crisis
- Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesman, in a statement on Monday, April 22, accused the Bishop of breaking the tradition of staying above politics
The presidency has reacted to the claim made by the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Rt. Fr. Stephen Mamza, that President Muhammadu Buhari is sleeping on duty over the conditions in the insurgency-ravaged northeast.
Legit.ng reports that presidency made the reaction in a statement in Abuja on Monday, April 22, it adding that the region is better off than it had been under previous administrations.
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The senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, in the statement, accused the Bishop of breaking the tradition of staying above politics.
According to the presidency, Bishop Mamza had made the remark during a homily “in which he spoke angrily against President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as ‘sleeping on duty as Commander-in-Chief. This is not a fair comment.''
The presidency added: “There is so much that has changed in the past three to four years in and around Yola, and the Catholic Church in particular that a true assessment would show that but for the Change Administration of President Buhari, things would have continued the way they were, or even get worse. These could not have happened if a Commander-in- Chief was asleep.
“Bishop Mamza was, and is still a strong member of the Adamawa Peace Initiative, API, composed of religious and community leaders which did the lovely work housing and feeding 400,000 displaced people from northern Adamawa and Borno states in 2015.
''The API also did the extraordinary work of easing tensions between Muslims and Christians during that period and ensured that both groups did not turn on one another based on suspicion.
The presidency blamed the continued violence in parts of the country on what it says is the refusal of community leaders to report criminals to law enforcement agents.
The statement continued: “Sadly, one of the realities of today’s Nigeria is that it easy to blame President Buhari for the violence all around us. Community leaders are too scared to blame the warlords and the sponsors of killings we live with because they fear for their own lives.
“What is happening in several communities racked by inter-ethnic and religious violence is arising from the refusal of community leaders to point at known criminals in their midst for the law enforcement agencies to act against them. They rather blame President Buhari for their woes.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the federal government reiterated its position on Monday, April 22, that it has largely depreciated the efficiency and efficacy of Boko Haram insurgents in the north east part of the country.
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Source: Legit.ng
