… Faults misrepresentation of Mailafia’s audio interview
THE African Democratic Congress has described as mischievous the reproduction of an audio interview with its Presidential Candidate in the 2019 election, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, saying the interview was misrepresented and reproduced without his consent.
The party said, while it was its position that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration seemed to be paying lip service to the issue of combating crime on all fronts, Obadiah’s remarks were sensationalised.
The National Chairman of ADC, Chief Ralphs Nwosu, who spoke in a statement, he personally signed on Tuesday, said the party had been inundated with calls ever since the video went viral, but reminded President Buhari that his administration must sit up because “there is a thin line between oppression and revolution.”
Mailafia was heard in the video saying that he had information from bandits operating in the Northern part of Nigeria that a serving Governor in the region was their commander, among other positions on the incessant killings in Southern Kaduna.
ADC said, as the credible alternative to the ruling party and the Peoples Democratic Party, Mailafia was only echoing its views about the complicity of the current administration in the unfortunate killings.
Nwosu said, “The leadership of the African Democratic Congress wishes to state clearly that the audio interview with our 2019 Presidential candidate was reproduced secretly and without his authorisation. The contents were deliberately focused on his remarks on bandit and killings in Kaduna State, leaving out the contextual premise.
“These guys ended up sensationalising some of the remarks and diminishing the major import of the message of our candidate and our party, ADC. There is no denying that ADC, like most Nigerians, is concerned about the sad story of the banditary ravaging most of the northern states and the security challenges nationwide.”
According to him, patching the video to suit narrow views by certain agents was meant to embarrass Mailafia.
He said, “This is very distressing and diminishes the reality of very horrible situations the people of Southern Kaduna and some indigenous northerners face on their own home fronts.
“Dr Obadiah Mailafia is a humane and patriotic Nigerian with impeccable records. He has never been associated with any mischief or violence. The Federal Government must however know that there is but a thin line between oppression and revolution and must, as a matter of urgency, tackle the crisis the way it should be tackled.”
The ADC National Chairman also noted that the grave security situation in the country had been a major source of concern for the party, saying, “This concern is shared by all patriotic Nigerians. The attitude of government officials and inability of the military and security forces to bring under control the banditary, Boko Haram insurgency and other ravaging insecurities, leaves much to be desired.
“This is the source of the anxiety and toxicity that have enveloped the country. Nigerians should disregard the sensationalism and come together to deal with the threat and toxicity. The mischief makers should retrace their steps, apologise to Dr Mailafia or publish the said interview unedited to bring out the context.”
