A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, Ita Awak, has apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan for what he described as years of “malicious falsehood” against Mr Jonathan’s handling of insecurity when he was in office.
Mr Awak, a former director, airworthiness standards at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority under the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, issued the apology in a Facebook post on Friday.
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“I wish to sincerely apologise to my fellow Nigerians for joining years ago to peddle the blatant falsehood that the government of President Goodluck Jonathan was clueless because of the Chibok girls crisis and insecurity in parts of the north orchestrated by militants and terrorists fully sponsored by persons known to the federal government and the security organisations in the country,” Mr Awak wrote.
Mr Awak, a former spokesperson of the APC in Akwa Ibom State, said his previous position was driven by “uncritical partisan politics”, not facts.
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“Years have passed, and the scales have fallen from my eyes. Now I know better. It is for this reason that I feel deeply sorry for lending myself, in the name of uncritical partisan politics, to joining in peddling a malicious falsehood against an innocent man,” he added.
Background
In April 2014, Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. The incident triggered global outrage, the #BringBackOurGirls movement, and intense criticism from the then-opposition APC.
Several Nigerians openly criticised Mr Jonathan, including Mr Awak and now-President Bola Tinubu, who told a rally in 2014 that Mr Jonathan lacked the capacity to secure the country and should resign.
“In any civilised country, Mr Jonathan should resign… They have exhibited failure, lack of capacity, vision, and creativity,” Mr Tinubu said at the time, The Nation Newspaper reported
The campaign against Mr Jonathan’s administration became a significant political talking point in the lead-up to the 2015 general elections, which Mr Jonathan lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
Rising insecurity
Mr Awak’s apology comes at a time Nigeria is facing worsening insecurity under Mr Tinubu, the same leader who once urged Mr Jonathan to resign over insecurity.
Recent incidents include the killing of a brigadier general during an ambush in the North-west, the killing and kidnapping of worshippers during a church service in Eruku, Kwara State, and the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State.
On Friday, pupils, teachers, and a security guard at a Catholic Church-run school in Niger State were abducted by gunmen in an early-morning invasion.
These incidents have renewed public criticism of the federal government’s security response.
Political reactions
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently asked President Tinubu to relocate the seat of government to Kebbi State following the abduction of schoolchildren in the state.
Mr Tinubu has postponed a planned appearance at the G20 Compact summit in South Africa to address domestic security concerns.
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Mr Awak’s apology has drawn attention because he was among the APC figures who publicly criticised Jonathan’s handling of insecurity. His reversal comes at a time when many Nigerians are drawing parallels between the Jonathan era and the current administration’s struggle with violent crime.
Mr Awak did not indicate whether he intends to reach out to Mr Jonathan privately and did not respond to a text message from this newspaper requesting comments.
