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By Myke Agunwa
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised the Federal Government for allowing Nigerians to learn about the United States military strike on terrorist assets in Nigeria through American officials first, describing the delay as a damaging “inverted communication approach” that undermines national sovereignty.
In a statement issued Friday by its National Publicity Secretary Comrade Ini Ememobong, the main opposition party expressed deep concern that President Donald Trump and other US officials announced the operation on their verified social media pages hours before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a vague confirmation of Nigeria’s “knowledge and cooperation.”
“While international cooperation against terrorism is appreciated, we are deeply concerned about a communication structure where foreign powers break the news of security operations in our country before our government does,” the PDP stated.
The party argued that the Federal Government should have been the first to inform citizens, “unless they were taken unawares like the rest of us,” adding that the episode evokes reports of previous unauthorised US military operations on Nigerian soil.
The PDP urged the Tinubu government to prioritise proactive public sensitisation and ensure any defence agreement with the US emphasises joint operations for knowledge transfer and capacity building, rather than “full externally-led precision attacks.”
“This inverted approach does not help the Federal Government or Nigerians in any way,” the statement concluded, calling for better coordination to sustainably combat insecurity.