His Special Adviser, Media, Uche Anichukwu issued a rebuttal yesterday titled, “The Challenge of Insurgency is beyond Partisanship,” just as Ekweremadu came under fire for his reported comments.
“The attention of the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate has been drawn to the attempt to misrepresent and sensationalise an innocuous call by Senator Ike Ekweremadu to Nigerians to pray for and rally round the Federal Government to win the war against insurgency.
“Specifically, the Deputy President of the Senate was reported by two national dailies as stating that the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration has worsened insurgency.
“Whereas Senator Ekweremadu expressed concerns over the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in parts of the country, at no time did he try to blame it on the present administration. It is instead on record that he not only commended the efforts of the present administration, especially in building international support and synergy to tackle the monstrous group, but he also called for greater inter-party, intergovernmental, and international collaboration to address the problem.
“It is instructive that his patriotic comments were well captured by many electronic and print media. They include: “Boko Haram: Ekweremadu Seeks Support for Buhari” (Leadership, Friday, July 10, 2015) and “Boko Haram: US Pledges Deepened Support for Nigeria… Ekweremadu rallies Support for Buhari” (New Telegraph, Friday, July 10, 2015).
“The fact that out of the 75-man Senate Press Corps, representing various media houses, which were present at the function, only one medium sensationally skewed its statement out of context, while a second medium copied the same story without a byline (name of reporter), tells the whole story of a devious intent,” the statement read.