The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the Bola Tinubu-led government for failing to announce the U.S. military strikes in Nigeria before the American authorities did.

In a statement on Friday by its national publicity secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP stated that the government should have communicated the operation in Sokoto State rather than confirming what the U.S. government announced.

“The federal government should have been the first to report the news in order to properly sensitise the Nigerian populace, instead of waiting to confirm news already in public circulation, unless they were taken unawares like the rest of the citizens,” the statement noted.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced on his social media pages that the American military carried out a series of air strikes against terrorist targets in the North-Western state. Hours after, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement confirming the operation.

The PDP noted that it supported the operation but expressed concern about the federal government’s failure to first communicate it to Nigerians to sensitise them.

It stated, “While international cooperation in the fight against high crimes like terrorism is very much appreciated, the Peoples Democratic Party is deeply concerned about a communication structure where foreign powers break the news of security operations in our country before our government does.

“This inverted communication approach does not help the federal government or Nigerians in any way, especially when taken against the background that the U.S. military has been reported to have previously entered and operated in Nigeria successfully without the permission and knowledge of the government.”

The party called on Mr Tinubu to ensure that the defence agreement with the United States of America towards eliminating terrorism is hinged on joint operations.

Warning against reliance on external-led precision attacks, the party urged the Nigerian authorities to engage in joint collaborations for knowledge sharing and experiential learning to help Nigeria sustainably combat insecurity.