Former presidential candidate and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has berated the Federal Government over what he described as its “shamefully political and dangerously unserious” response to the country’s deepening insecurity crisis.
 
He claimed that the administration’s reaction to escalating terrorist and bandit attacks had been driven more by propaganda and partisan interests than a genuine commitment to

“This government treats the blood of innocent Nigerians like a campaign statistic,” he said in a statement at the weekend.

Olawepo-Hashim added: “Instead of confronting terrorists and bandits, they are busy issuing statements and blaming imaginary enemies. Governance is not propaganda. The APC is more interested in securing PDP governors ahead of the 2027 elections than in securing Nigeria. Rather than uniting the country, the APC is pitching the South against the North.”
 
The global energy entrepreneur described the recent move by the United States to place Nigeria on a watch list of countries of concern over religious and security issues as a direct consequence of the government’s failure to confront terrorism with sincerity.

However, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said the Christian genocide in Nigeria was being peddled because of the country’s stance on a two-state solution to the perennial Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Speaking in an interview on France24 TV in Paris, the presidential aide maintained that the nation’s statement delivered by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) led certain Western actors to peddle the Christian genocide claim.
 
In his address during the UNGA 80th session in New York, Shettima condemned the attack on innocent civilians, while calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
Owing to the development, Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator, proposed a bill that seeks to protect “persecuted” Christians in Nigeria.
 
Riley Moore, a member of the US House of Representatives, had asked Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, to immediately take decisive diplomatic action against the Nigerian government over the “systematic persecution and slaughtering of Christians” in the country.
 
Bill Maher, a U.S. comedian and talk show host, also alleged that Christians were being systematically exterminated in Nigeria by terror groups.
 
The Federal Government has repeatedly denied the claim.
 
Bwala described the Christian genocide claim as a “cooked-up narrative by the West because they see that we are making gains with the economy.”