Ondo PDP, APC trade words over Owo church terror attack

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has said that the APC government should not be allowed to rule beyond 2023, going by its failure to protect the people.

In a statement issued by its publicity secretary, Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, on Monday, the party described the APC as an ‘evil’ government.

The statement read, “In the last two weeks, Ondo State has played host to the rest of the world. Receiving condolence messages, men and women who paid a visit to the ancient city of Owo, over what has been appropriately referred to as the ‘Owo massacre’.

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“Gunmen attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo with explosives and guns. At the funeral service for a mass burial organised by the Catholic Church, the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who was in tears, remarked that the government failed to defend the victims.

“What Akeredolu said at the burial service was a confirmation of what every sensible Nigerian has said about the APC government and its agents. That the government has failed the people is the truth. Akeredolu’s qualification of the failure as ‘not because we have not tried but because those forces on the other side are evil and they have support’ amounts to begging the question.

“At least l appreciate the humility of the Governor to openly admit the failure of the APC government, whether at the centre or at home in Ondo State. It is further proof of the reason why such an ‘evil’ government should not be allowed beyond 2023.

“As much as l share in the pain and grief of the massacre in Owo, this is the flip side we cannot shy away from.”

However, in a swift reaction, the Ondo State government described the action of the PDP as “insensitive and dancing on the graves of victims of Owo terror attack”.

In a statement by the press secretary to the Governor, Richard Olatunde, the statement supposedly made by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in respect of the remarks made by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, at the funeral mass for the slain victims of the Owo terror attack was said to not come as a surprise to the Ondo State Government.

It read, “The assertion credited to the opposition shows its lack of empathy and respect for humanity. It is an unnecessary gloat that greatly offends the collective psyche of the people of the state.

“The PDP, which obviously doesn’t know the limits of politics, is attempting to reap political capital at the expense of human lives. It is politics taken too far.

“Since the unfortunate incident of Owo attack, the people of the state and across the country have collectively mourned the departed while praying for the injured to heal fast.

“It is very sad that the PDP, in its characteristic manner, has shown that it places politics above human lives. At this time when the state is still struggling with the pains of the heinous attack, the opposition party has found it convenient to scoop political gains from the excruciating pains inflicted on humanity by the incident.

“As we speak, the tombs of the deceased are even yet to dry, but the PDP couldn’t wait to dance on their graves. This infantile and inhumane brand of politics depicts what the party stands for.

“For the records, let it be known that Governor Akeredolu’s remark at the burial mass for the slain victims of the Owo attack last Friday was a sober reflection of the overwhelming security situation in the country. It was a projection of the helpless situation the sub-nationals have found themselves under the government at the centre of a federation.

“The Governor’s remark was targeted at the need for the country to retrace its steps and adopt true federalism which encourages state police. This was a call that had been made even since the era of the PDP-led administration at the centre.

“It is also a general knowledge that what has come to stay as terrorism in Nigeria today started under the PDP administration. The PDP in Ondo State must have forgotten that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”