The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday asked President Bola Tinubu to either seek help or resign, as Nigeria faces renewed attacks and kidnapping of school children across some states in the north.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, noted that the recent abductions of students in Kebbi, Niger, and worshipers in Kwara States highlight the inability of the president Tinubu-led government to manage a worsening security crisis in the country.
The PDP spokesman maintained that the President has failed in his primary responsibility to safeguard the lives and property of citizens.
“We again remind the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government,” he stated.
“At any time, government is unwilling, unable, or incapable of executing this primary role, such a government, must either ask for help (locally or internationally) or honourably resign, if it is sincere and responsible.”
Ememobong also criticised the decision by some state governments and the Federal Government to shut down schools, saying it amounts to surrendering to terrorists.
He said the PDP is concerned that the Federal Government has yet to provide a coordinated response despite multiple kidnappings within a single week, describing the presidency’s approach as slow, lacking empathy, and politically driven.
The party’s spokesman faulted Tinubu for assigning the response to the Minister of State for Defence instead of personally visiting the affected communities.
“More troubling is the fact that when these unfortunate incidents happen, the administration’s response is usually lacklustre and unempathetic.
“Instead of the President visiting Kebbi and Niger States to meet and sympathise with the parents of the children who are in captivity, and to address the security personnel there, he merely directed the Minister of State for Defence to relocate to Kebbi,” he stated.
The party’s spokesperson argued that shutting down schools would worsen the region’s already severe education deficit, where UNICEF reports that the majority of Nigeria’s 18.3 million out-of-school children reside.