New Telegraph

Insecurity: Buhari has handed over Nigeria to terrorists, says PDP

Opposition to embark on zonal rallies soon

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of literally handing over Nigeria to armed bandits, insurgents and Boko Haram terrorists who are on the rampage across the country. The opposition party’s accusation came on the heels of Tuesday’s statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed that kidnapping and banditry were state offences and should not be the concern of the Federal Government and the President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that by claiming that abductions and kidnappings were not under the purview of the Federal Government, Buhari has abdicated the responsibility exclusively vested on him by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to operate all apparatus of national security – the police, military, paramilitary and all other armed services, to secure lives and property in all parts of the country.

In a terse statement released on behalf of the opposition party yesterday, Ologbondiyan regretted that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government had, by their latest position on the serial abductions across Nigeria, openly admitted that they could no longer guarantee the safety of lives and property of the citizenry.

He described the statement as a further revelation that the presidency “has not been committed to combating armed banditry and kidnappings, but had, all along, been feeding Nigerians with lies, propaganda and falsehood, while the bandits pillaged the nation. “It is unthinkable that President Buhari, who promised to lead from the front, is now running away from duty while seeking to heap the burden of his office on the states, who do not have control of security agencies.

“Perhaps, President Buhari and his Minister of Information need to be tutored that the Second Schedule (Exclusive Legislative List) clearly vested the control of all apparatus of national security on the Federal Government and not the states. “Items 2, 28, 38, 45, 57 of the Exclusive List are clear in vesting the operation of the police, the military and other armed services; the control of arms and ammunitions as well as criminal records, among other statutory paraphernalia of national security, on the Federal Government and not the state,” he said.

The PDP spokesman charged the President to desist from speaking through proxies and wake up from his slumber to address the nation on the worsening insecurity in the country, occasioned by “his misrule”. Meanwhile, the PDP has announced plans to hold zonal rallies across the six geo-political zones in furtherance of its efforts to rescue the country from the current misrule. National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus stated this when he received the pioneer National Secretary of the party, Prof. Jerry Gana who returned to the PDP after years of political sojourn elsewhere. Secondus said the party will use the opportunity of the rallies to dialogue with Nigerians “on democratic means to tackle the festering insecurity, guarantee the safety of lives and property as well as restore our national stability and cohesiveness.” He disclosed it was im-perative to tap from the wealth of experience of leaders like Gana, and urged him to deploy his wealth of experience and intellect in the collective quest of well-meaning Nigerians to forge a new direction for the nation. “The main objective of the PDP is to rescue our nation from collapse. Our country is threatened and this is not a joke. We are confronted with guerrilla warfare and the very foundation of our country is being threatened.

“That is why the PDP is leading the charge in seeking solution to the ugly situation our nation has been plunged into by the All Progressives Congress (APC),” Secondus said. On his part, Gana said he was happy to be back to PDP, adding that Nigeria “is in a dire strait” and needed urgent rescue. “Nigeria is on the brinks. The economy is stagnated. There is insecurity everywhere. Nigerians are beginning to doubt our nationhood. The political answer to the situation today is for PDP to take back power. Nigerians do not deserve what we are going through today. We must take decisive steps that will help rescue our nation, Gana said.

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