Security: PDP, Masari differ on state of emergency call

The Peoples Democratic Party has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently declare a state of emergency on security to end the spate of killings across the country.

It stated this on Thursday in a communique issued at the end of its emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee in Abuja on the state of the nation.

It also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a national conference on security.

But Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari has said declaring a state of emergency will not address the current security challenges but only outstretch the security forces.

The PDP communiqué read in part, “NEC lamented the heightened insecurity pervading all parts of our nation due primarily to the misrule of President Muhammed Buhari and All Progressives Congress as well as their failure to decisively tackle the menace of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, bloodletting and acts of violence in our country.

“NEC urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately declare a national state of emergency on security.

“NEC also urged President Buhari to, without delay, convoke a national conference on security so as to galvanize ideas and options to tackle insecurity in our country.

“NEC further commended the efforts of governors, senators, House of Representatives members and other officials elected on the platform of the PDP in forcefully seeking solutions to the spate of insecurity in our country.”

The party also hinted about its programmes preparatory to the 2023 general election.

It stated, “With regard to the programmes of our party, NEC expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the NWC in preparation for the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State and asserted its readiness to do everything possible, within the confines of the law, to win the election.”

Speaking on the development on Thursday after meeting with the President’s Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, at the presidential villa, the governor said that declaring a state of emergency would only overstretch the efforts of security agencies.

The governor urged Nigerians to view the security challenges beyond partisan politics, adding that it is a national concern.

He said, “How can state of emergency solve the problem? You have a situation where the military are in all the states of the federation; then you ask yourself: How many do we have? Are we not overstretching them?

“So, the reality is that the responsibility of securing this country is ours — all of us. We have a role to play, and we must play it for the sake of the country and for the sake of our children and grandchildren, not for the sake of the persons that are in office.

“I think we have to understand that whatever we do to restore security today, we are not doing it for one particular person or group of persons, but we are doing it for all of us, for the country and in fact, for Africa. A stable Nigeria means a stable sub-Saharan Africa.”