The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed deep concerns over the wanton killings, thuggery and harassment associated with the Nigerian politics, saying the crimes have continued to fester because of poor or lack of law enforcement.
Oshiomhole spoke when he led other party executives on a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing.
Reacting to the murder of People’s Democratic Party’s woman leader in Kogi state, Acheju Abuh, who was burnt alive in her home by suspected political thugs, Oshiomhole said it would be the shame of the Nigerian police and of the security agency if anybody pretends that the perpetrators could not be found.
“And if they find the person, they should bring him to justice. Our laws are clear. There’s no state in Nigeria where murder does not result to death penalty. If those involved in that crime are to be properly and diligently prosecuted, convicted and sentence to death and the governor signs the death warrant and they are executed, things will change for better.
“We have serious problems with law enforcement. And until we get our law enforcement right, Nigeria has a problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Oshiomhole said the ruling party is considering establishing an institute for progressive studies to better educate the people on how its leadership style, values and approach to governance and to public service delivery were different from others.
He said this was necessary in a country where “dysfunctional premordial sentiments”, rather than politics of ideas, inform voters’ choice during elections.
“As a result of the confusion even among the political elites, the Nigerian voters can hardly tell why he prefers one party to the other.
“Rather than lamenting, we think that we should make conscious effort to put ideas on the table so that we can agree or disagree on the basis of ideas that are shared and we form caucus or factions on the basis of ideas as opposed to ethnic, regional or religious sentiments,” he said.
Earlier in his remark, Nigerian Ambassador to China, Baba Ahmad Jidda, said though Nigeria is China’s biggest trade partner in Africa, there is a huge gap in favour of Beijing.
“Nigeria’s exports to China stood at 1.6 billion dollars, while China exports $12.5-billion worth of goods to Nigeria,” he said, adding that “what remains to be done is to bridge the trade gap.”
The envoy, meanwhile, appealed for interventions to be released to Nigerian foreign missions without delay.
“We must say that we’re not the complaining type. We’re doing our best with the available resources,” he added.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
