Worried by the continued criminal incursions in the country, the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has challenged President Bola Ahmad Tinubu to neutralise terrorist activities in the nation.

Kwankwaso, a former Minister of Defence, urged the Federal Government to forcibly dislodge the criminals occupying ungoverned space if negotiations with bandits failed.

The Presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) during the 2023 general election issued the advice on Tuesday at the unveiling of the pioneer batch of Kano State Neighborhood Watch.

Kwankwaso believed the Nigerian military has the professional dexterity to end criminal tendencies in the country; however, he was worried that Tinubu’s administration lacked the political will to fight insecurity.

He insisted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government must apologise to Nigerians for failing to end insecurity and protect lives and property, which is the primary responsibility of government.

Kwankwaso declared that “President Tinubu should rise up to the occasion and answer the name of Commander In Chief” to tackle the problems of insecurity ravaging the nation.

According to him, the Nigerian military remains one of the gallant armed forces in Africa, with a profound and proven track record of professionalism demonstrated in several fields of operation.

“Our troops have fought at several global war fronts, like Darfur, Liberia, and many other places. However, the government is not doing what it is supposed to do to make them fight gallantly. When I was Defence Minister, I knew the Nigerian Military’s strength. They are courageous and need some semblance of political will to make them do the needful,” he said.

Kwankwaso explained that should he become the President of the Nation in 2027, he will ensure the recruitment of over one million military personnel. He worried that any government that failed to protect lives and property has woefully failed and has no business being in government.

Recently, Kwankwaso declared that the party is fully repositioned to play a decisive role in Nigeria’s democratic future, adding that discipline, unity and internal democracy remain its strongest assets ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NNPP leader also called on members to attend its convention and support the emergence of a new leadership that would steer the party for the next four years.

Kwankwaso spoke in Abuja, at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and National Convention, where the NNPP reviewed its nationwide congresses and prepared to elect new national officers.

He said that the party has successfully conducted rancour-free congresses at the ward, local government, state and zonal levels, a feat he described as a testament to NNPP’s growing organisational strength and commitment to democratic values.