The presidency has responded after President Bola Tinubu’s decision to address victims of the Jos Massacre from the airport drew criticisms nationwide.
In a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, special advisor to the president on Information and Strategy on Friday, he revealed logistical challenges and the visit of the Chadian president, Idriss Deby meant the president could not make the journey to the affected local government in Jos North.
“President Tinubu’s itinerary for Thursday included two main engagements: receiving the Chadian President, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, and proceeding to Iperu, Ogun State.
“After Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s briefing, President Tinubu suspended the trip to Ogun. Overnight, the Presidential Villa made arrangements for the visit to Jos, with presidential assets quickly deployed.
“However, the President could not postpone the scheduled visit by the Chadian leader. The President of Chad was at the Presidential Villa for a very important bilateral meeting focused on strengthening security collaboration between the two countries.
“The meeting ran longer than expected, affecting President Tinubu’s scheduled departure for Jos. Upon arrival in Jos, the visit encountered some logistical challenges. While the road distance from the airport to Jos township is approximately 40 minutes, the runway does not support night flights due to the absence of navigational aids.
“The constraints made it unfeasible to drive into town, meet victims for on-the-spot assessment and return to the airport before dusk. Consequently, state and federal officials decided to bring representatives of the affected community to a hall adjoining the airport so the President could meet with them promptly while adhering to flight restrictions. Among the people in the hall were the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police, who had visited Rukuba, the epicentre of the conflict.” The statement read in part.
This excuse has however not gone down well with Nigerians who insist the president should have made more efforts to ensure he visited the affected community to ascertain the situation on ground.
