The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the appointment of new Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari as rather late in the day, when much harm had already been done to the national security.
The party said the belated replacement of the outgoing wearied Service Chiefs, after much damage to the nation, shows President Buhari as a leader who has always refused to heed to wise counsel by well-meaning Nigerians but continually leads the country to a dire strait.
It noted that such unpatriotic, self-conceited and narrow-minded approach to leadership is responsible for the escalated insecurity and avoidable loss of lives; economic recession with excruciating hardship as well as widened divisions in the land under Buhari’s watch.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan said that if Buhari had acted when the party and other well-meaning Nigerians including the two chambers of the National Assembly impressed upon him to do so, the security situation in the country would not have degenerated to this abysmal level.
The party further said; “We hope President Buhari uses this as a turning point to learn to listen to wise counsel and not always set our nation on the path of destruction before acting.
“Nevertheless, our party expresses hope that the new Service Chiefs will brace up to the challenges of our nation and note that their appointment at this time, more than at any other point in our national history, demands a huge sense of commitment, responsibility and determination to secure our nation and restore peace, order and national cohesiveness in our polity.
“Our party urges the new Service Chiefs to take urgent steps to restore professionalism, boost the morale of our troops and ensure not to fall into the indolence, corruption, recklessness, abuse of process and partisanship that characterized the tenure of the last service chiefs,” the PDP said.
It said the new commanders must note that Nigerians are looking up to them as professionals to remove terrorists, bandits and other outlaws ravaging the nation from Nigeria’s landscape.
The PDP demanded an immediate inquest into the tenure of the last Service Chiefs to unravel the circumstances behind the security lapses and compromises as well as accusation of involvement in the alleged looting of funds meant for the equipping and welfare of troops in the front.
It insists that such must be the sure step towards sanitizing the security architecture as well as lifting the morale of those in the front lines risking their lives for the security of the nation.
