Visit Kaduna, Borno, other troubled spots in Nigeria, PDP tells Buhari after trip to Mali

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday charged President Muhammadu Buhari to visit Borno, Kaduna, and other troubled spots in the country.

The party was reacting to the president’s recent visit to Mali where some leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) tried to broker peace between the government and the opposition forces in the West African nation.

The PDP in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, urged President Buhari to find a solution to the myriads of political, economic and security crises ravaging the country.

The party also asked the president to respond to the distress calls by Nigerians and immediately visit Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Taraba, Benue, Borno, Adamawa, Sokoto, Yobe and other states “that are being pillaged daily by bandits, insurgents, kidnappers, and marauders.”

The statement read: “The party describes Mr. President’s prioritization of the situation in Mali over the worsening political and economic instability, festering corruption as well as escalated banditry, killings, and bloodletting in various parts of our country as a misplacement of governance urgency as well as an inexcusable dereliction of statutory responsibilities vested on the person and office of the President and Commander in Chief of our nation.

“The PDP laments that a President and Commander-in-Chief who cannot live up to his statutory governance responsibility at home but is always pre-occupied with seeking photo opportunity abroad leaves much to be desired.

READ ALSO: MALI CRISIS: Buhari returns as peace summit ends in deadlock

“While the PDP has nothing against Nigeria’s participation in seeking peace in troubled Mali, it is however depressing that, upon re-opening his doors, President Buhari had Mali as his priority destination and could not demonstrate the littlest solidarity with Nigerians, even if it is a whistle-stop at any of our military posts in the fronts or any of the distressed states.

“Our party believes that Mr. President receives a regular briefing on the worsened security and economic situation in our country and ought to take these issues as a priority.

“Indeed, Mr. President must be receiving a regular briefing on the daily ravaging of communities and mindless killings in Katsina, his home state; Kaduna, Zamfara, Taraba, Benue, Borno, Adamawa, Sokoto, Yobe states, among others in addition to the reported challenges facing our gallant soldiers in the fronts, yet upon reopening of his doors, he chose to jet away to Mali instead of addressing these critical issues at home.

“Mr. President has taken no decisive steps to address the worsening economic situation in our country, which is daily plummeting in his hands, the accumulating foreign debts, plundering of foreign reserves, frightening unemployment rate, devaluation of our naira, high cost of living and issues of reduced life expectancy in Nigeria.”

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