The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has condemned Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for praising President Bola Tinubu over the recent arrests of two terrorist leaders.
Recall that Mahmud Muhammad Usman, the leader of Ansaru, and his deputy Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Malam Mahmuda, were arrested early this week.
Governor AbdulRazaq, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS,) Rafiu Ajakaye, described the feat as: “a big win for the country.”
The Kwara PDP, on Thursday, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Adewara, lamented that “the governor’s recent praises of President Tinubu for arrests made in other states while Kwara communities are under siege with residents abandoning their homes to be refugees, is not only an insult to the suffering masses but a further demonstration of an absentee leadership.”
According to Adewara: “it is most unfortunate that Governor AbdulRazaq has reduced governance to a tenant-agent transaction, where the landlord, who is the Governor, refuses to directly engage with the struggling tenants, the people of Kwara but speaks through paid media agents whose sole mission appears to be downplaying the grave security situation and painting a false picture of normalcy while our people can no longer sleep peacefully in their homes.
“We find it highly insensitive and irresponsible, that the Governor is rolling out statements hailing President Tinubu for the arrest of terror kingpins in other states, while Kwara communities are bleeding from incessant banditry, kidnappings, and terror attacks with no hope in sight.
“Our people in Babanla, Oke-Ode, Patigi, Edu, Kaiama, Baruten, and other parts of the state are daily at the mercy of marauders.
“Families have been displaced, farmlands abandoned, and communities deserted,” the PDP lamented.
He however added that: “if Governors of Borno, Zamfara, Yobe, Kaduna, or Niger had been as complacent and disconnected from reality as Governor Abdulrazaq, the nation would not have celebrated any milestone in the fight against insurgency.
“Those states achieved progress because their leaders confronted insecurity directly, worked hand-in-hand with communities, speak to the people when it matters and showed empathy to victims of insecurity. Sadly, Kwara under Abdulrahman has become a case study in denial and constant media propaganda,” it regretted.
He advised the governor to stop this “tenant-agent transaction” style of governance and personally engage Kwarans, saying: “this is not the time for flowery press releases but decisive leadership and tangible action to restore peace and security to citizens.”
