By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm that the rate of kidnapping, banditry, attacks by Boko Haram, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) on security formations across the country is no longer a joke.
In a statement titled ‘We must unite against insecurity – APC’, issued yesterday by the National Secretary of the Caretaker /Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the APC, John James Akpanudoedehe, the party said the time is precarious and does not require politics.
He said the security challenges is a current realities which the APC as a leading party is not ready to play politics with, especially as it is a matter that concerns the lives of citizens and the collective wellbeing of the nation.
The statement said “As a progressive party in government, we are fully-focussed on identifying and bringing to book the perpetrators and sponsors of this hydra-headed insecurity monster and consolidating on our visible development strides.
“While the party sympathises with all affected by the security incidents, we call on all to unite against insecurity and criminality, however expressed. Only in safety can we enjoy the current agriculture revolution which has seen Nigeria achieve self-sufficiency in rice and other staple food items.
“Only in safety can we enjoy the current infrastructure revolution that has witnessed the rehabilitation, construction and reconstruction of over 13,000 kilometers of critical federal roads, construction of thousands of affordable and acceptable housing and of course the ongoing national railway projects gainfully connecting cities and towns across the country.”
In addition, the party cautioned against falling for the plot of sectarian opportunists and unpatriotic partisans whom it said have swarmed the public space with divisive rhetoric in furtherance of their selfish plot to exploit the security situation for their hideous gains.
According to the party, it is dangerous to national security, hence Nigerians should not let them succeed, adding that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is criminalising crime, not ethnicity.
“The president’s charge to the newly-appointed service chiefs was clear: “We are in a state of emergency. Be patriotic, serve the country well, as your loyalty is to the country”.
“Our security services deserve our continued support and cooperation as they undertake their constitutional duty to safeguard citizen’s lives, property and our territorial integrity. In our private and public spaces, we have a duty to be vigilant and volunteer information on strange and suspicious activities around us.
“The President Buhari government will continue and strategically deploy all state resources in achieving public safety”, the statement said, adding that Nigerians must shun the antics and activities of unpatriotic and sectarian opportunists fanning divisive embers, promote peaceful coexistence, eschew bitterness and unite against insecurity and crime, for the development of the country.
“From the Ogbomosho taxi driver who was born and lives his productive life in Kaduna State; the Igbo trader who is the Chairman of the Ladipo spare parts market association in Lagos state to the Kano-born Hausa businessman investing and building sugar, cement, petrochemical plants around the country and employing thousands.
“Despite our natural differences in culture, religion and ethnicities, we are more patriotic, alike and united than bigots, sectarian opportunists and unpatriotic partisans try to make us believe. We have a collective stake in our country’s security and ensuring that Nigeria works for all”, the APC statement said.
