By Luminous Jannamike
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, on Wednesday faulted President Bola Tinubu over his declaration that he was prepared to ‘fight to the finish’ politically, saying the President should direct that resolve against terrorists, bandits and kidnappers instead of the opposition.
With killings and kidnappings continuing across parts of the country, the opposition party said Nigerians are looking to the President for decisive action against insecurity, not another political showdown with his opponents.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said it found the timing of Tinubu’s remarks troubling, noting that they came during a meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, only hours after gunmen reportedly killed at least 30 people in Naridon village in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The ADC said: “Nigerians did not elect a Commander-in-Chief to become the nation’s chief issuer of condolence statements.
“Mr President, the fight Nigerians elected you to lead is not against the opposition. It is against the terrorists, kidnappers and armed criminals who continue to kill innocent citizens and destabilise communities across the country.”
The party said the attack on Naridon village left homes burnt, families displaced and yet another community devastated by violence, arguing that such tragedies demanded stronger action from the Federal Government.
According to Abdullahi, “After every attack comes another statement. After every massacre comes another condemnation. After every tragedy comes another expression of sympathy.”
The ADC maintained that the President appeared more combative towards the opposition than the security threats confronting the country.
“What is equally disturbing is that when it comes to insecurity, President Tinubu is a commentator. However, when it comes to the opposition, he is a combatant,” Abdullahi said.
“Mr President should reserve decisive words and actions like ‘fight to the finish’ to defeat the terrorists, bandits and kidnappers who continue to shed innocent Nigerian blood, not the opposition who want to save Nigerians from his misrule and failure.”
The party further argued that, more than three years into Tinubu’s administration, the government could not point to a security record that justified what it described as political bravado, insisting that the President should be focused on reclaiming communities overrun by criminal groups rather than preparing for political battles.
“The President’s real opponents are not the opposition. They are terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and the growing insecurity that continues to claim innocent Nigerian lives. Those are the enemies he was elected to fight, and as things stand today, they remain undefeated,” the party said.
It added that elections are won by performance, not declarations of political toughness, urging the President to focus on restoring security and protecting Nigerians rather than engaging in political confrontations.
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