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The presidency has responded to a trending editorial piece by a national daily, which chronicled the alleged assaults of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration on the rule of law and press freedom.
This according to the media outfit continues to shrink the civic space in Nigeria.
But the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a swift reaction said the decision of the national newspaper to refer to the president as a “major general” is proof of press freedom.
In the editorial entitled “Buhari’s lawlessness: Our stand”, on Wednesday, the newspaper said it will also refer to the Buhari administration as a regime until it purges itself of “contempt for the rule of law”.
But Adesina countered that Buhari earned the rank, adding that all over the world retired military personnel are now “democrats”.
“A newspaper says it will henceforth address President Muhammadu Buhari by his military rank of Major General. Nothing untoward in it. It is a rank the President attained by dint of hard work before he retired from the Nigerian Army. And today, constitutionally, he is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” Adesina said.
“All over the world, just as in our country, a large number of retired military officers are now democrats. It does not make those who did not pass through military service better than them.
“Rather than being pejorative, addressing President Buhari by his military rank is another testimony to free speech and freedom of the press, which this administration (or regime, if anyone prefers: it is a matter of semantics) has pledged to uphold and preserve.”
