Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has described the non-extension of invitation to President Muhammadu Buhari to attend United States of America President-elect, Donald Trump’s inauguration as a clear signal that Buhari does not enjoy international relevance any more.
The governor, who said the 10-day vacation announced by the president could be to cover up the embarrassment, after all efforts to secure invitation to the inauguration failed, added that the development was a very clear signal that Buhari’s government will not enjoy tangible support from the new US government.
According to a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, Fayose said “there is no doubt that Buhari is not in the good books of the incoming US government,” arguing that Buhari’s frequent visit to US during Obama administration and the romance was due to the tacit support given to Buhari by Obama to win the 2015 election with deception.
He said; “with Obama’s role in the emergence of President Buhari, it can be said that he (Obama) is a member of the APC in the diaspora.”
Fayose continued; “There is more to it that in an important event like the inauguration of a new US President, our president will be missing in action.”
The governor wondered why the same Buhari, who was a regular visitor to the US under Obama, is today not part of the historic inauguration of a new administration.
“No doubt, something is fundamentally wrong because if there is hope of a future relationship between President Buhari and the new US President, they would have been celebrating his inauguration and would not have allowed Nigerians to hear any other news apart from Buhari going to America.
“Obviously, Buhari’s junketing to US that gulped $1 million per trip, has come to an inglorious end,” he said.
The governor, who congratulated Trump for winning against all odds, like he (Fayose) won his own election in Ekiti in 2014, appealed to the new American president to do everything humanly possible to save Nigeria from the wanton killings and horrid human rights abuses of the Buhari administration.
He enjoined Trump to use his good offices to look into the daily killings in Nigeria particularly in Southern Kaduna where over 1,000 people were slaughtered like goats and buried in mass graves.
Fayose reiterated; “The Southern Kaduna killings is a clear case of genocide that must be thoroughly investigated and unraveled.
“To make matters worse was the bombing of the Internally Displaced Persons camp by the military in apparent desperation to cover up the corruption and mismanagement of affairs in the camp.
“We appeal to Trump to ensure that the voice of the opposition is not silenced in this country.”
Describing the emergence of Trump as the will of God despite human gang up, Fayose said that the opposition in Nigeria will work with the new American government.
Fayose also cited the reckless disobedience to court orders; the deliberate efforts to kill opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state; the intolerance of this administration which is second to none, victimization and hacking of opposition leaders’ telephone conversations under the guise of anti-corruption war; the bastardization of institutions of state such as the armed forces, INEC, Police, Department of State Security, compromising of a section of the Judiciary, and turning them all into jellies doing the bidding of the ruling party at the snapping of fingers are other possible reasons why Buhari was not invited to Trump’s inauguration.
He implored the new American president to put international pressure on the Buhari administration to restore true democracy to Nigeria.
“We however appreciate the non-invitation of Buhari because that will give him the much needed opportunity to face the problems he inflicted on Nigeria, especially the IDP bombing, which left over 100 hapless Nigerians dead,” he said.
But responding to Fayose’s position, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said the president couldn’t have been subbed or embarrassed as the United States government ”does not invite sitting presidents or Heads of State to inauguration of their presidents”. He said, ” Our President could, therefore, not have been snubbed.”
Shehu in a post on Twitter urged journalists and well-meaning Nigerians to join in refuting what he tagged falsehood
