The All Progressives Congress (APC) Caucus in the Senate has rejected the statement by the opposition lawmakers that President Muhammadu Buhari was absent from duty despite the nationwide killings.
The minority caucus of the National Assembly had, on Tuesday, flayed the “ineptitude and inability” of the APC-led federal government to arrest the hydra-headed security challenges.
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It said it was unfortunate that rather than solve the security problems met on the ground as promised, the APC administration had since 2015 broadened it to the extent that every section of the country was now beset with one security challenge or the other.
But the APC senators, after a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, said they were concerned that the opposition’s statement was capable of over-heating an already charged polity.
Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, described the claim that President Buhari had not been seen despite the rising insecurity as “false and cheap politics.”
“We reject and dissociate ourselves from all and any inflammatory statements that appear to threaten the authority of Mr President and our party,” he said.
He said the opposition’s blame game and threats of “constitutional measures” were unwelcome and will not help to address the challenges facing the nation.
The Senate leader said: “While we acknowledge the natural disposition of playing politics, we are worried and disturbed that our colleagues are playing with lives.
“We take exception to the unfortunate charge that our President has not been seen.
“This is false and cheap politics. Mr President and service chiefs are meticulously busy every day and every night in deliberations with a view to addressing the security challenges across the entire country.
“Similarly, Mr President had always made statements to Nigerians on all major security incidences and assuring Nigerians and indeed the international community that he would continue to do his best in making sure that the security challenges are tackled head-on.
“We want to assure Nigerians that Mr President is in charge of the government and is discharging his duties conscientiously and patriotically.
“It is a well-known fact that the Federal Government under the PDP refused to invest in the security infrastructure of the country while Mr President under the APC-led Government had massively invested in this regard more than any past governments and we are confident that the nation will surmount its current security challenges.
“We, therefore, call on our distinguished colleagues and indeed all Nigerians to join hands with us as we proffer solutions to this hydra-headed security challenges.”
