The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the All Progressives
Congress (APC) to immediately rein in its ‘bandits’ as our nation can no
longer cope with the daily marauding, kidnapping, and wanton killings by
these outlaws.
In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, “The PDP invites Nigerians
to note how the APC has become deflated and dumbstruck since its
connections to the escalation of acts of terrorism and banditry,
including the gruesome killings and kidnapping of innocent Nigerians for
ransom in the last five years, were exposed.
“The APC further betrayed its complicity by always evading demands by
Nigerians to explain the whereabouts of the bandits it imported as
political mercenaries to unleash violence and help it muscle the 2019
general election.
“The APC had always dodged demands by our party and other patriotic
Nigerians asking it to come clean on reports in the public space that
many of the bandits ravaging parts of our nation, killing and kidnapping
innocent Nigerians are APC political mercenaries which it failed to
settle after the 2019 elections.
“Moreover, the APC had further betrayed its links through its manifest
show of sympathy to terrorists and bandits, failure to promptly and
forcefully condemn their activities as well as its attack on anybody,
who condemn acts of terrorism or demand for the release of abductees.
“Our party holds that now that President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted
his administration’s failure to rout the bandits, the onus lies on the
APC, as a party, to help Mr. President by immediately reining in their
bandits and ending their affliction on our nation.
“Is it not a national shame that whereas the Chadian President Idris
Deby personally led his troops to rout out insurgents and even freed
Nigerian territories and soldiers held captive by terrorists in northern
part of Borno state, our President, who promised to lead the fight
against insurgency from the fronts, has receded to the comfort of the
Presidential villa, from where he is leading from the rear and blaming
his service chiefs?
“If President Buhari does not see that it is time for him to let go and
allow more competent hands to take charge of the security of our nation,
the least expected of the APC is for it to appeal to Buhari to heed the
calls of patriotic Nigerians.
“In any case, it is imperative to reiterate that the APC cannot
exonerate itself from this badge of shame and infamy by attempting to
single out President Buhari for blame for their collective failures.
“After all, the APC was responsible for the importation of bandits as
their political mercenaries in 2019.
“To worsen the situation, APC leaders, in their greed, corruption,
nepotism and acute partisanship have continued to ravage our nation
while failing to produce any governance strategy for the Buhari
administration apart from reneging on all its promises to Nigerians.
“Nevertheless, Nigerians are already aware that the APC and its leaders
have nothing good to offer our nation but only want to keep beguiling
the people and use their merchants of violence, which they have been
protecting, to attempt to perpetuate themselves in power come 2023; a
scheme that has already failed.”