The main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to lead to battle against insecurity in the country from the front, just as he promised in the electioneering campaigns.
PDP made the call in a series of tweets by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan on Wednesday.
“But the inactions of Mr. President today are responsible for the deluge of insecurity that has affected our nation. The expectation of Nigerians furthermore, is that these challenges should not be limited to the issues of lip talk; rather, they should be confronted so that Nigerians can sleep with their two eyes closed,” Ologbondiyan said.
Nigeria is currently facing its worst peace-time crisis, with insecurity rising from every corner. There is kidnapping all over the country, insurgency in the North East, clashes between herders and farmers, and separatist movements in the South East, South-South and southwest regions.
“As a political party interested in the corporate existence of this great country, we are prepared, like we have always done, to offer advice and assist in every legitimate way to help Nigeria overcome its challenges
The party’s statements came after President Buhari’s comments on Tuesday that the attacks by yet-to-identified hoodlums on the facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission would not stop the general elections scheduled for 2023.
Buhari made the comments when he received reports from the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in Abuja.
He promised to meet all the demands of the commission for the 2023 elections, stressing that the attacks would not stop the elections planned in two years’ time.
Buhari further said that his administration would invest more resources to enable INEC to ensure no election fails. He said this was to ensure that people would not go with the impression that he wants a third term in office.
A statement issued by Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President saying that he would ensure INEC is able to carry out its duties “so that no one would say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We’ll meet all INEC’s demands”.
Commenting on the challenges facing the 2023 polls, Ologbodiyan said that Nigerians’ expectations from Buhari for the elections to
4/ On the 2023 elections, the least Nigerians expect from the President “is for him to revisit the Electoral Act amendment which he refused to assent to”.
“He should dust it up and return it to the National Assembly if there are further amendments they should be included. Let them work on it and return it to him to sign into law so that our elections will be better,” the party’s spokesman said.
“Mr. President should also encourage INEC to institutionalise the electronic transfer of results in order to forestall problems that arise in the processes s of collation. This is not too much to ask,” he added.