The chieftain of opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, has condemned the masterminds of the report on death of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Anenih was the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party. Anenih, who reacted to the development on Sunday in Abuja, dismissed the report as the handiwork of those who not only did not wish Buhari well, but also did not mean well for Nigeria.
The elder statesman said those behind the rumor, in their hurried bid to propagate their mischievous and false report, forgot that the president left Nigeria for London and not Germany, on vacation, during which period he would undergo routine medical check-up.
“This attitude of doing false reports about the death of our leaders has become characteristic in the media, and it is not good.
“I was a victim of this in May last year when I was reported to have died in a London hospital.
“Former President Ibrahim Babangida was also a victim of such sinister rumoured death last year. I wonder what those behind the false and mischievous reports intended to gain from them.
“Fabricating such negative and false reports of death about fellow human beings is wicked and ungodly. It is clearly against Biblical admonition that we should pray for leaders and people in authority,” Anenih said.
“At this time of economic recession, rather than wish President Buhari dead, Nigerians should fervently pray for him to enjoy good health to be able to take the country out of the woods.
“The masterminds of these false reports should desist from such despicable act that only portrays them as inhuman. They should fear God, ask for His mercy and forgiveness so they do not invite the wrath of God upon their heads,” he added.
Anenih advised the media, especially operators of online media platforms, to always verify sensitive reports before they publish, saying, “by doing so, they will save their news subjects and themselves unnecessary embarrassment.”
VANGUARD
