From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has blamed Nigeria’s escalating insecurity situation on what it described as the ‘inept and incompetent manner’ the last People’s Democratic Party (PDP) administration handled the Boko Haram insurgency.
Apparently responding to a critique from Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, the ruling party claimed that the security situation is better now than when the PDP was in power when bombs were exploding inside the churches.
The APC, in a statement signed by the National Secretary Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, James Akpanudoedehe, said that it will not be distracted by the antics of the PDP designed to mislead Nigerians.
While throwing more jabs at the opposition party, the APC warned that Nigerians cannot risk the country’s future in the hands of the same political party that brought the rot that the APC administration is clearing.
The statement reads in part:
‘APC wishes to remind Nigerians that the seeds of the insecurity which the APC administration is containing were sown by the PDP administration when it handled the Boko Haram insurgency in an inept and incompetent manner.
‘This is a response to the false claims by the Governor of Rivers State, who lied that the federal government has lost control of the security situation. The remarks by the Rivers state governor, whose party members call a dictator, flies against the continuous efforts of our security forces who are toiling day and night and successfully rolled back the Boko Haram insurgency it inherited to a small part on the shores of Lake Chad.
‘Nigerians can recall that the insurgents once attacked places of worship, markets and gathering of citizens in many states of the federation before the APC administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari galvanised and equipped the armed forces to degrade their capacity to strike all over the country.
‘It is ironic that the dictator at the Rivers State Government house has forgotten so soon that kidnapping for ransom, like the Boko Haram insurgency, did not start under this administration, but every effort is being made to stop it along with its twin evil of banditry.
‘The APC administration has consistently worked for the best interest of Nigeria and will not be distracted by the antics of the PDP designed to mislead Nigerians into assuming that the PDP they rejected in free and fair elections in 2015 and 2019 is worthy of their trust.
‘A leopard cannot change its spots. The PDP is clearly in disarray. It was a failure in governance and a shocking failure as an opposition party. Nigerians cannot risk the country’s future in the hands of the same political party that brought the rot the APC administration is clearing.’