The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticized the federal government’s and certain state governments’ decision to close schools due to an increase in kidnapping incidents on Sunday, cautioning that the action would unintentionally aid terrorists in their goal of severely impeding education.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, told reporters in Abuja that closing schools is equivalent to giving criminal organizations the upper hand.
“The terrorists’ goal would have been unintentionally accomplished if the schools were closed,” he stated.
Ememobong criticized the Tinubu administration’s “simplistic approach” of closing institutions in order to stop more kidnappings.
Instead, he argued, the federal government should develop an all-encompassing, intelligence-driven strategy based on quick reaction systems and community alertness.
He claims that the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools must be properly implemented since insecurity is quickly turning into a significant deterrent to education, especially in the North.
The PDP spokesperson claimed that the closure of schools would exacerbate the already poor situation in Northern Nigeria, where the majority of the 18.3 million children who are not in school reside.
In Northern Nigeria alone, there are 8.1 million secondary school-age children and 10.2 million primary-age children who are not in school. The problem will only worsen if schools are closed, he claimed.
The latest wave of kidnappings in Kebbi, Niger, and other states, he said, is “indicative of the alarming insecurity that has become the contemporary lived experience of Nigerians under the APC-led Bola Tinubu government.”
Ememobong expressed disapproval of the Federal Government’s response to the latest abductions at schools.
“What’s more concerning is that the administration’s reaction to these regrettable events is typically indifferent and uncaring,” he stated.
He criticized President Bola Tinubu for not traveling to Kebbi and Niger states to show compassion for the victims’ families, pointing out that the President had merely ordered the Minister of State for Defense to move to Kebbi.
“A comparison of the contingents sent to the US Congress and the G-20 meeting with Matawalle’s lone envoy exposes the levity with which the Presidency treats this matter,” he stated. The APC-led Federal Government’s response is incredibly callous and disregards the seriousness of the issue.
The opposition party reminded the Tinubu government that protecting people and property is its top priority.
“We remind President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government,” stated Ememobong. A government must either beg for assistance locally or internationally or, if it is serious and responsible, retire honorably if it is unwilling, unable, or incapable of carrying out this basic task.
