Press Statement
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President Muhammadu
Buhari’s resort to religious coloration and classification of wanton
killings in the country by insurgents, as totally horrendous,
unpresidential, scandalous, discriminatory, divisive and a huge spat on
the grave of the victims.
The party describes as highly insensitive that President Buhari could
attempt to rationalize the failure of his administration to end
insurgency by stating that 90 percent of those killed by terrorists are
members of a particular religion.
The PDP, as a Pan Nigerian political party, holds without any
equivocation, that the killing of any compatriot, anywhere by terrorists
or bandits, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or class, can never be
rationalized under any guise whatsoever.
The party says Mr. President’s disturbing statement shows that the
Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) attach no
value to the lives of Nigerians as well as further exposes their
manifest lack of capacity and commitment to effectively tackle the
worsened security situation under President Buhari’s watch.
Our party holds that for President Buhari, a commander in chief, who
promised to fight from the fronts and now holds all the paraphernalia of
power; and on whose shoulders the security of the nation rests, to make
such a statement leaves no one in doubt that the Buhari Presidency has
reached its wits end, exhausted its propaganda and has no solutions to
offer.
It is instructive for the Buhari Presidency to note that rather than
engaging in lame attempt at rationalizing failure, the expectation of
Nigerians is for it to take decisive steps, track down and vanquish
terrorists, who resurged in our country after Mr. President took over as
Commander-in-Chief.
More distressing is that Mr. President’s divisive comment is coming at a
time when all well-meaning Nigerians, irrespective of religion, partisan
and sectional interests, are rallying together following calls by
patriotic individuals and groups, particularly the PDP, to find solution
for the worsened security challenges under the APC administration
President Buhari and the APC must know that every life is precious,
irrespective of religion, and that this obnoxious body count as
rationalization for failure is completely unacceptable.
The PDP notes that with such dismal attitude Nigerians have lost all
confidence in the commitment of the APC administration to find solution
to security challenges under its watch.
The party therefore counsels President Buhari to immediately apologize
for his comments, accept failure, rejig his security high command and
engage more competent hands to effectively tackle the security
challenges.
Indeed, what Nigerians want to hear from President Buhari is the
apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators of mass killings in Benue,
Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Yobe, Adamawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and other
states of the nation where communities where pillaged under his watch.
Furthermore, the PDP urges Nigerians not to allow such statements to
deter and divide their emerging common front against acts of terrorism
and violence in our country.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
