The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend all his engagements in France and rush home to address the disturbing issues facing the country.
Mr Obi made the call in a statement posted on his X handle on Wednesday.
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Mr Tinubu on 2 April left the country for France, his fifth trip to the European country since assuming office.
The Presidency described the trip as a working visit and that it is expected to last for two weeks.
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Since the president left the country, there have been some security challenges, including killings in Plateau and Zamfara states, as well as protests among opposing political groups in Rivers, where the president declared a state of emergency and suspended all elected officials, including the governor.
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, in a statewide broadcast, said the attackers shattered the Zike community, forcing victims to cram in churches.
“Innocent men, women, and children were murdered in cold blood. Homes were torched, property ravaged, and the entire family left in agony.
“This attack occurred even as we were still mourning the loss of over 50 lives in Bokkos. The scale, frequency, and intent of these atrocities are unmistakable,” Mr Mutfwang said, stressing that the attack was a premeditated campaign that seeks to displace, destabilise, and instill terror and fear on the people and the communities.
“The suffering of families now crammed into churches and temporary shelters, their lives uprooted overnight,” the governor said, stressing that the state has made headlines for the wrong reason for too long.
President Tinubu has condemned the attack and directed security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.
Rush home, take responsibility for security challenges – Obi
Mr Obi in the statement said he is compelled to call on Mr Tinubu to suspend his ongoing “retreat in a foreign land and come home to address the overwhelming security situation across the country.
“This urgent call has become necessary following the rising incidents of crimes and criminality all over Nigeria, with an apparent absence of governance.
“In the two weeks you have been away, over 150 Nigerians have lost their lives to insecurity across Nigeria, especially in Plateau and Zamfara states.
“The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta, further reflect a nation in distress,” Mr Obi said.
“In the North East, Borno State leaders are bemoaning the return of insurgency, with troops and civilians being killed randomly. In the South-east, the story is the same: killings and abductions.
“Amid all these, the CEO of the troubling company called Nigeria is retreating to far away land in France from the Company’s headquarters.”
Mr Obi said the primary duty of any government was securing lives and property of its citizens and wondered about the type of “retreat” going on in a foreign country where he said “peace has been secured by their leaders while blood continues to flow in our country.”
“I, therefore, like to urge Mr President to quickly suspend whatever he is doing in France and rush home to take responsibility by addressing these disturbing issues,” he said.
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