PDP, APC clash over anti-terrorism war

The Peoples Democratic Party has urged Nigerians to hold the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the All Progressives Congress, responsible for the festering acts of terror which have held Nigeria hostage.

The PDP said the Buhari regime and the APC should come clean about their connection with terrorists considering the roles they both played in frustrating efforts by the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP administration to end the menace.

This was contained in a statement titled, ‘Terrorism: Hold APC responsible for killings – PDP…Exposes how APC leaders, govt. encouraged terrorism’.

The statement read in part, “The PDP has asked Nigerians to hold officials of the Buhari Presidency and the anti-people APC responsible for the festering violence and incessant killing of innocent Nigerians by terrorists.

“The confession by the Buhari administration that our nation, under its watch, is at the mercy of terrorists, is self-indicting; being the outcome of the overt and covert support given to terrorists by some unpatriotic APC leaders for their selfish interests.”

The PDP also recalled how APC chieftains, as opposition leaders first in the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, and later the APC, openly sympathised with terrorists and took steps that frustrated genuine efforts by the then PDP government to fight terrorism.

It said, “APC leaders encouraged hoodlums to fight against the system, with one of them, who is now a minister, emboldening hoodlums and insurgents to resist our security agencies with machine guns.”

“Such subtle support for terrorism was witnessed in the bizarre attempt by the APC-led administration to blame the 43 innocent Nigerians beheaded by terrorists in Borno state on Saturday.”

In response, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, said the PDP should be ashamed of itself because it had the opportunity to end the carnage but chose politics over Nigerian lives.

Nabena said, “Our government is still fighting Boko Haram because of the incompetence of the former PDP administration. It was a PDP government which created Boko Haram in the first place when it ordered the extra-judicial murder of its leader, Yusuf.

“The $2bn, which the government claimed was set aside to fight insurgency, became the ATM for PDP leaders during the 2015 elections. So, what is the PDP talking about?”