Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, has urged Nigerians, especially members of the opposition parties to desist from making statements that can incite the masses against the government.
Oyintiloye said that, while it is the right of the opposition parties to act as a watchdog for the government’s policies and programmes, he added that making comments that could destabilise the country was not the best way to go.
The APC chieftain, who made the remarks while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, said that unchecked negative comments and criticisms by the opposition parties could cause unnecessary distractions for the Federal Government.
Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, said that what the government needed from the opposition at the moment was constructive criticism, which could assist the government to concentrate on the delivery of good governance.
The APC Chieftain said that politics of bitterness and hatred by the opposition would not in any way promote unity in the country, but rather cause division and ill feelings among Nigerians.
Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) said that anyone hiding under the umbrella of the opposition to incite the masses against the government through their comments should be treated as an enemy of the country.
The former lawmaker also said that the recent comments by some members of the opposition parties against the president had caused unnecessary uproar.
” The truth is that we don’t have any other country except Nigeria, and that is why we need to play the role of opposition reasonably.
” Making comments that could incite the masses against the government in the name of politics is unpatriotic and should be avoided.
” Members of opposition parties have the right to criticise the government but such should be constructive to assist government to achieve its best for the people.
“Constructive criticism is about appreciating the good policies and highlighting the drawbacks, and not despising the policies and programmes of the government.
” If such it is done in good faith, it will keep the true essence of democracy alive, give it a chance of improving the quality of good governance and hence create a better society”, he said.
Oyintiloye, however, said that government, with all sense of responsibility, should take seriously constructive criticism that would improve the country and make it enviable among the comity of nations.
Furthermore, the government should imbibe the culture of engaging the critical stakeholders at the policy formation stage, so as to reduce unnecessary criticism of the policy during the implementation.
He said that what the president needed at this point in time was support and prayers for him to succeed in his assignment, urging Nigerians to always contribute their quota.
