By Ola Kay
The Democratic Front, TDF, has come down hard on the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Mr. Bolaji Abdulahi, for attempting to downgrade the efforts of President Bola Tinubu at normalising Nigeria’s security situation.
The opposition party recently criticized the administration of President Tinubu for what it described as inadequate response to Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, warning that the President was falling short of his constitutional duty as Commander-in-Chief.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, 2 (sic), Danjuma Muhammad, and the Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, the group noted that it was mischievous to give the impression that little or no attention is being paid to security issues.
The statement read in part, “TDF frowns at the ADC spokesperson’s mischievous belittling of the remarkable strides by the security agencies in neutralising tens of thousands of terrorists and bandits in all the flashpoints in the country.
”We believe the ADC spokesperson displayed some form of selective amnesia when he failed to evaluate President Tinubu’s achievements in the security sector, vis-à-vis the multiple formidable challenges that bedevilled the nation, long before he emerged as President.
”The drastic reduction in the spate of kidnapping and banditry on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, the return to normalcy and the improved security of lives and properties in Borno, Yobe, and Katsina states as well as the troubled parts of Kaduna in the last year, clearly confirms the successes recorded in eliminating threats to lives and properties in Nigeria.
”In a vain attempt to mislead the public, the ADC spokesperson made cynical references to isolated cases of banditry in parts of Kwara State, forgetting that the gallant Nigerian troops and security personnel recently neutralised the notorious Mahmuda terrorists group in the same state, leading to the capture of the top commanders to the admiration of Nigerians, and the international community.
”It is to the credit of President Tinubu that the Lakurawa terrorist group that invaded the country from the Sahel region was swiftly repelled and neutralised in Kebbi State. Even the recent state burial of late President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura went without any incident during and after the event.
”We also acknowledge the prompt response of security forces to the mechanical breakdown of a passenger train on the Kaduna-Abuja route, which underlines that National Security is at the top of the President’s agenda.
”We consider it contradictory for Abdullahi and ADC to turn a blind eye to all these achievements, including the recent arrest of 147 terrorists, and the rescue of 39 hostages within the period of one week, by the hardworking Nigerian troops and security officials, to wrongly accuse the President of not paying attention to the safety of lives and properties in Nigeria.
”Most unacceptable to the TDF was the disregard for decorum in the public space, by exaggerating the conditions that led to the closure of some schools in some high-risk areas of Northern Nigeria to prevent possible abduction of students by terrorists, as happened under the PDP administration in 2014.
”Although we agree that the task of ensuring a water-tight national security that will fully guarantee the safety of lives and properties in Nigeria is still work in progress, we believe that the progress attained by Tinubu’s application of kinetic and non-kinetic methods in dealing with the security challenges should be roundly appreciated”.
TDF added that Nigerians should be wary of politicians who are ready to sacrifice anything for political power, including playing politics with the lives of the citizenry.
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