The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) President and Vice Presidential candidates, Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettimma, of trying to whitewash the public image of the party by associating themselves with successful PDP bigwigs.
Making this allegation in the wake of a now-viral picture where the APC candidates were seen posing with the former president, the party accused Shettima of sabotaging and frustrating Jonathan’s administration’s effort to curb insecurity in Borno.
Jonathan served as President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, while Shettima served as governor of Borno from May 2011 to May 2019.
Shettima and Bola Tinubu had attended the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese’s 70th birthday celebration earlier in the week and had taken a photo with the former president
However, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, criticized the pair for their “disgraceful and hypocritical” behaviour on Thursday after they allegedly denigrated Jonathan.
The PDP spokesman also criticized Tinubu and Shettima for their recent decision to disassociate themselves from President Muhammadu Buhari’s “abysmal failure.”
“In a desperate design to whitewash their battered public image, identifying with the obvious successes of the PDP and in an attempt to posture as statesmen, the APC presidential candidate, his running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima, and other APC leaders shamelessly orchestrated a photo opportunity with the distinguished and successful former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“This is a patriotic Nigerian leader whose PDP-led purposeful and successful government the APC leaders viciously harassed, constantly insulted, labelled, sabotaged and discredited for their selfish power-grabbing enterprise,” the statement partly read.
“Nigerians have not forgotten how Asiwaju Tinubu callously vilified and pilloried Dr. Jonathan, spewed hate against his administration, and reportedly funded a near riotous protest which was inflamed by concocted economic lies, propaganda, and false statistics to discredit the Jonathan-led PDP administration.
“Nigerians can equally recall how Sen. Shettima as governor of Borno State sabotaged and frustrated Jonathan’s administration in its effort to curb insecurity in Borno State.
“Records still have it on how the APC vice presidential candidate as governor of Borno State failed to act on a security report and directive to close schools in remote parts of Borno State and relocate students to the more secure capital of Maiduguri to write their GCE examinations; thus creating the opening for the cruel abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno State.
“Nigerian will also note how the then Governor Shettima abdicated his duty as a chief security officer and reportedly withheld vital security information in preference to non-state actors including terrorist elements, thereby frustrating the timely rescue of the abducted Chibok girls.”
More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from Chibok in Borno State in mid-April 2014 by the Abubakar Shekau-led section of the terrorist organization Boko Haram, while Shettima was the governor and Jonathan the president.
The kidnapping shook the world, and international organizations like the UN denounced the horrible crime. Some of the kids allegedly got released, while others allegedly got married off and got pregnant by the terrorists.
For over 13 years, Nigeria has been dealing with an insurgency. Terrorists have kidnapped a large number of children from schools in the north in addition to Chibok, the most notable of which are Dapchi, Kankara, and Kagara.
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