Stop playing politics with soldiers’ death, APC tells Atiku, PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Presidential candidate Abubakar Atiku came under attack yesterday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused them of playing politics with the killing of soldiers by insurgents.

According to the APC, it was callous for anyone to ‘dance on the grave’ of the soldiers, who died in active national while defending the territorial integrity.

The opposition party, in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, had blamed the killing of soldiers in Metele on alleged mishandling of funds meant for the procurement of weapons for the war against terror on the Federal Government under APC’s watch.

But the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu fired back in a statement yesterday, saying the PDP got it wrong in its claim that funds meant military operation  have been diverted to campaign ahead of next year’s elections.

According to him, Nigerians have seen through the deceit of the PDP and will not be fooled by such antics.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari remained committed to bringing lasting peace and security to all parts of the country. He added that the President has been ensuring that internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.

The APC statement reads: “The allegations by the PDP that military funds have been diverted to finance the 2019 election campaigns of the APC is a sad reminder of the evil and retrogressive practices the PDP was notorious for during its defunct rule.

“God forbid that the APC inherits and apply such morbid practice as brazenly displayed during the immediate-past PDP administration where funds allocated to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast were shared among PDP leaders and their cronies.

”It is clear that the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have decided to dance on the graves of our valiant and patriotic soldiers by politicising their deaths in the recent Boko Haram attack on the Nigerian Army Metele base.

“The PDP and Atiku are playing desperate politics where even the blood of our fallen heroes is fair game. Their actions are callous and insensitive to the families and dependants of the late soldiers and indeed our military which battles daily to ensure our territorial integrity.

“Nigerians see through PDP’s ploy to score political points as elections approach and it will surely backfire.

“While the APC mourns the death of our military and other security personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty, we urge them to remain focussed on the brave task of securing the nation.

“The President Buhari-led administration remains solidly committed to bringing lasting peace and security to all parts of the country and ensuring that previously displaced persons are rehabilitated to resume their normal and productive lives.”

Also yesterday, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) accused the PDP and Atiku for what it described as their scant regard for human lives and for playing politics with the death of Nigerian soldiers in battle.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, the BMO described as unfortunate that the opposition and its presidential candidate have been using every opportunity to celebrate the unfortunate attack on troops at 157 Battalion in Metele, a remote Borno State village bordering Nigeria and Chad.

The group said: “We are at a loss as to why opposition elements have been milking the tragic deaths of national heroes so much so that the international media took notice with different castigating headlines which should have made these people retrace their steps.

“In a bid to discredit the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, PDP posted gory pictures of dead soldiers from elsewhere and few days later, Atiku offered scholarships to the children of slain soldiers.

“The former vice president’s move came at a time the military authorities had not even completed the standard practice of identifying soldiers killed in action or even notifying their next of kin.

“The inhumane act amounted to dancing on the graves of those who paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure that the PDP presidential candidate could conveniently invite his friends to celebrate his American University of Nigeria Founder’s Day last weekend.

“He and his media handlers have forgotten how in 2014, he lamented at a press conference that a handful of Boko Haram fighters had successfully invaded and hoisted the caliphate flag in Mubi, a town with a population of about 300,000 as well as Michika and Gulak after they had over-ran Bama a town nearly 400 kilometres from Yola.

“This gave rise to thousands of displaced persons in Adamawa, and not once did the former Vice President announce relief support for IDPs or scholarships for children of soldiers that died liberating his state.

“The height of Atiku and his party’s insensitivity is the fact that they are still busy issuing statements critical of the military leadership twenty four hours after Air Force jets crossed into a neighbouring country to launch airstrikes on the base of the terrorists who carried out the Metele attack, based on actionable intelligence.

“They didn’t even acknowledge that over 200 foreign terrorists were killed and some of their armoured vehicles destroyed in the air raids.”

BMO noted that Nigerians would not forget in a hurry how the PDP allowed insurgency to fester for years, recalling how Boko Haram seized 14 local government areas and raided villages at will in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

”We make bold to say that if the $2 billion set aside for arms purchase in 2015 were not shared to PDP members through the office of the National Security Adviser, no one would be talking about the capacity of Boko Haram or ISWAP in 2018,” the BMO said.