The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s led government of incompetence in handling the country’s insecurity adding that the president is insensitive to the plights of ordinary Nigerians.
The party also tackled Senator George Akume over his absenteeism at senate plenary to answer charges of gross incompetence and dereliction of duty raised against him by his own deputy on the Senate Committee on Army at the time he led delegation of Benue APC stalwarts on a visit to President Buhari at Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, in a statement on Sunday in Makurdi, noted that a string of events over the past few days across the federation had depicted what he described as the manifest incompetence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to handle serious and demanding business of governance in the country.
“The Nigerian Army under the APC has been neglected, as amply reflected in the fact of its abandonment by the Senate Committee under the Chairmanship of Senator George Akume which has been mandated to oversight them, and the consequences of this abandonment could be counted to include the unfortunate massacre of the troops at Metele.
“The APC controlled Buhari regime has time and again displayed unbelievable insensitive to the plight being suffered by Nigerians and did so once again by holding the courtesy visit of Benue APC stalwarts led by Senator Akume to President Buhari at a moment of national and indeed global grief over the massacre of dozens of Army troops at Metele,” the party stated.
It added that Akume had evidently shown a lack of capacity coupled with unwillingness to function effectively as a senator, and therefore should be voted out at the 2019 elections to give room to someone more capable and passionate about offering quality representation to the people of Benue North-West senatorial district at the senate.
Reacting, the State Publicity Secretary of APC, James Ornguga, stressed the need for Nigerians to avoid the temptation to play politics with every situation as he noted that the massacre of armed soldiers was indeed sad and regrettable.
“However, such calamity can visit uniform men at any time, not minding who rules the nation. Between the PDP and APC who truly understands the plight of Nigerians? PDP during its time consumed the fortune of Nigeria through corrupt practices, such that it will take us decades to recover from the sabotage.
“On the alleged nonperformance of our party leader in oversighting the Senate Committee on Army, It will take enough proof than mere accusations from the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Senator Danbaba Abdullahi who uttered several meaningless statements since he defected from the APC to PDP. Senator Akume has a window to also defend himself,” Ornguga posited.