Osita Okechukwu, the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, VON, on Sunday queried the ability of former vice president Atiku Abubakar to work with the United States to curtail the insecurity crisis in Nigeria.
While making his presidential declaration on Saturday in Yola, Adamawa state, Atiku told the crowd that “we are witnessing the most insecure situation in Nigeria ever since APC took over.”
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But speaking with journalists in Enugu, Okechukwu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, made a subtle reference to the former vice president’s lingering immigration status dilemma and asked if Atiku could resolve the problems of the killings without international support, especially that of the United States.
He also slammed former vice president for reeling out “inaccurate” statistics of deaths resulting from killing incidents in the country.
Okechukwu said, “I am outraged like most Nigerians over the spate of killings by herdsmen/farmers clash, bandits, militias Boko Haram and sundry. President Muhammadu Buhari, I must confess, is very sad over the killings. His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, Turaki of Adamawa statistics are unnecessary and inaccurate, for one death is painful.
“At any rate his statistics and can be best-dubbed campaign hype if not fake news, when the real statistics are assembled. Iraqi casualty is over 500,000. The cardinal question, in all honesty, is can Turaki stop the insecurity without the cooperation of international security agencies, especially that of the United States?”
The VON DG called on Nigerians to continue to cooperate with President Muhammdu Buhari, who he claimed remains respected internationally and is the “best” candidate for the country’s top job in 2019.
“Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, few weeks after the inauguration, was honoured with a red carpet reception at the White House.
“A presidential contest is like a beauty contest, and Buhari remains the best among those parading themselves to be President in 2019″, he said.
He also urged Atiku to join hands with Buhari to fight insecurity, instead of “comparing the dead with those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
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