RENO Omokri, an aide to the former President Goodluck Jonathan, has faulted the claim of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ‘that Abuja was not safe enough to host foreign ministers four years ago during the Presidency of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.’
Omokri explained in his Facebook post titled “World Tourism Organisation Meeting and Bukola Saraki: How The Buhari Administration Continues to Lose Credibility Daily,” on Monday that “Lai Mohammed, being the notorious liar that he is, has forgotten that exactly four years ago, world leaders gathered in Abuja for the World Economic Forum from May 7 to May 10, 2014.”
He quotes the minister while speaking at a press briefing to welcome participants to the the 61st meeting of the UN World Tourism Organisation, UNWTO-CAF, holding in Abuja, saying: “Four years ago, hosting this event in Abuja would have been a pipe dream, considering the level of insecurity. Remember that Boko Haram carried out many deadly attacks in this capital city. That is now history.”
Omokri explaines fuether: “Between a ministerial meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, and a meeting of world leaders at the World Economic Forum, which is more prestigious and which requires more security?
“Not only did Abuja play host to the World Economic Forum, Nigeria under Jonathan, also hosted major world leaders in Abuja, including German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who visited Abuja between July 14-15, 2011, then French President, Francois Hollande, who visited between February 27-28, 2014 and then Lebanese President, Michel Suleiman, who visited between March 18-19, 2013, amongst many others.
“From the above and numerous other instances, it has been established beyond all reasonable doubt that we are dealing with a dishonest administration that will say or do anything to remain relevant.”
In a related development Omokri said the linking of the Senate President Bukola Saraki to the deadly Offa Bank robbery showcases the “fallacious tendencies,” of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
“The allegation against Mr. Saraki begs the question, does the Buhari government even reason? The amount of money stolen during the Offa Bank Robbery is not up to the sum of monies that Bukola Saraki gives out in charity to the masses during Sallah and other Islamic festive occasions. The Senate President also sits atop a ₦100 billion annual budget. Why would he sponsor a bank robbery?
“These and other unintelligent lies are just recent instances of the serial dishonesty and lack of integrity displayed by the Buhari administration. It has gotten so bad that if Lai Mohammed or Garba Shehu tell you good morning, you had better check your watch to ensure that it is indeed morning.
“These constant barrage of lies by the Buhari administration has made Nigeria a butt of international jokes and led to a situation where we have lost our pride of place as the Giant of Africa.
“Nigerians may recall that on April 27, Garba Shehu, spokesman to President Buhari, lied that President Buhari was the first African President to be received by US President, Donald Trump, at the White House.
“I had the singular honour of exposing the Presidency’s lie through a video I released of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi being received by President Trump at the White House on April 3, 2017, more than a year before Mr. Trump met Mr. Buhari.
“The question Nigerians should ask the Buhari government is this:
“If former President Jonathan is the failure they claim he is, then why are they always keen to compare themselves with him? It is human nature to compare oneself with the best. They always compare themselves with Jonathan a man who they claim is a failure. Do they have an inferiority complex?”
