Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari over his comments on killings across the country.
The President had said that 90 percent of the victims in the mindless killings were Muslims, a comment the PDP described as “totally horrendous, unpresidential, scandalous, discriminatory, divisive and a huge spat on the graves of the victims”.
In a statement on Wednesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party deplored the President’s resort to religious colouration and classification of wanton killings in the country.
The PDP said it was highly insensitive of President Buhari to attempt to rationalise 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 rationalised under any guise whatsoever,” the PDP said.
Describing the President’s statement as disturbing, the main opposition party said the President and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) attach no value to the lives of Nigerians.
The President’s statement, the party further said, has exposed manifest lack of capacity and commitment to effectively tackle the worsened security situation under President Buhari’s watch.
The statement said, “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 rationalising 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.
Read Also; We mustn’t rationalise killings- Atiku tackles Buhari’s claim on B/Haram victims
“President Buhari and the APC must know that every life is precious, irrespective of religion, and that this obnoxious body count as rationalisation 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 called on President Buhari to immediately apologise 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,” the party added.
The PDP urged Nigerians not to allow the President’s statements deter and divide their emerging common front against acts of terrorism and violence in the country.
Leave a Reply