The Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday decried what it termed the “gruesome killing”
of over 100 innocent Nigerians in communities in Plateau State.
The party
regreted that if President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress
(APC) had adhered to its “wise counsel”, such killings would have been averted.
In a
statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP insisted that Buhari’s
failure to “address and bring to book, the perpetrators of killings and
bloodletting in various parts of the country is emboldening insurgents and
marauders to further attack and murder defenseless Nigerians.”
The
statement said, “It is most disheartening that compatriots are being killed
daily because those saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding lives are
careless about the well-being and safety of the people, as they focus only on
their ill-fated 2019 re-election bid.
“Even when
the Zamfara State governor, Abdul-aziz Yari cried out that he was overwhelmed
by the spate of insecurity and killings, the Federal Government gave him an
ineffectual response laced with their trite blame game.
“We urge
Nigerians to note that since the escalation of killings and bloodlettings in
various parts of the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Kogi,
Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna and other states, no concrete steps have
been taken by the APC administration to strengthen and fortify the security
architecture in the troubled areas.
“Instead,
what we are witnessing are inactions, impotent assurances and blame games that
have continued to compromise security in the areas thereby creating an opening
for marauders to continue to ravage our people.
“In fact, if
the APC and its Federal Government had channeled the same energy and resources
they have deployed to fighting perceived opponents towards fighting marauders
and insurgents, the security challenge would not have been as devastating as we
have in our nation today.
“We now find
ourselves in a situation where government attaches no value to the lives of
Nigerians so much so that top security officials flout presidential orders and
even abandon their security duties in troubled areas while the President, as
the commander-in-chief, takes no strong steps to reorder his parade.
“The PDP
particularly agrees with Nigerians that if the over 7,000 security personnel,
police surveillance helicopters and Armoured Personnel Carriers were not
withdrawn from their primary security duties and drafted to be part of the APC
national convention, the Marauders would not have had a field day in this
Plateau attack.
“Furthermore,
the PDP calls on the APC and its government to come out clear on what they
stand to gain by allowing these killings and bloodletting to fester as if the
lives of our citizens have become worthless.
“Finally,
while the PDP commiserates with the families of the victims of the attack, we
totally reject these killings and demand an immediate concrete step to get to
the root of the matter and end this bloodletting in our land.”
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