President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has directed that the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs and banners around Abuja which he and many Nigerians find offensive and repugnant be brought down immediately.
This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.
The statement reads;
President Jonathan wholly shares the widely expressed view that the signs which were put up without his knowledge or approval are a highly insensitive parody of the #Bring Back Our Girls hash tag.
While President Jonathan appreciates the enthusiastic show of support for his administration by a broad range of stakeholders, he condemns the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs which appear to make light of the very serious national and global concern for the abducted Chibok girls.
The President assures all Nigerians and the international community that his administration remains fully engaged with efforts to rescue the abducted girls and that he will not knowingly promote any actions that will fly in the face of the seriousness of their plight and the anguish of their families.
However, former Minister for Education and a prominent face of the #BringBackOurGirls group, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has described the order by President Goodluck Jonathan for the removal of the offensive #BringBackJonathan signs as deceitful and callous.
She stated that the President cannot claim ignorance of the hashtag that was allegedly started by his aide, Dr. Doyin Okupe, posting some of the earlier tweets of Dr. Okupe to back her claims.
It will be recalled that the president on Wednesday morning ordered the removal of the signs and banners which he described as offensive and repugnant, claiming ignorance of the action by his supporters.
