A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has called on Nigerians to stop distracting President Bola Tinubu with negative criticism but instead support him in the fight against insecurity in the country.
Oyintiloye made the call while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
There has been a spike in insecurity across the country in recent days.
Last Monday, two monarchs were killed by gunmen in Ekiti State. On the same day, eight schoolchildren were kidnapped alongside two others. The students were however released on Sunday (today).
Days after, gunmen killed another monarch in Kwara State bringing to bare the government’s struggle to protect its citizens.
Against this backdrop, the APC chieftain said the rate of insecurity in the country was becoming alarming, noting that the development called for a sober reflection.
He stated that this was a period Nigerians needed to rally around the President and his administration to find solutions to the various security challenges facing the country.
The former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, who condemned the recent killings and kidnappings, stated that the President is doing everything humanly possible to restore peace to the country.
According to him, this is a trying period for all Nigerians, who he said are saddened by the latest multiple killings and kidnappings across the country.
He noted that Nigerians must take solace in God, while government fashioned out strategies to address the situation.
“No one is happy with the recent killing, banditry, terrorism, kidnapping other criminalities across the country, but negative criticism and names calling by the leaders of the opposition parties is not the way forward.
“What we need at this critical period is for us as stakeholders to come together, irrespective of our political affiliation, religion or tribe, and give the present administration needed boost and encouragement.
“Security is a collective responsibility of everyone and that is why I am appealing to leaders of the opposition parties to stop playing cheap politics with security issues and narratives that can divide the country”, he said.
Oyintiloye, however, commended the President for the prompt approval of funds to the security agencies for the purchase of modern equipment to fight insecurity.
He said the recent release of N50 billion security vote to five northern states was a show of commitment by the president to minimise the spate of insecurity.
The APC chieftain, meanwhile called on the President to look into developing security architectural frameworks that are community-based.
He also advocated for a bottom-up approach security framework that would integrate every social strata of society, traditional rulers, religious leaders, non-conventional security groups and opinion leaders in assisting security agencies in combating the insecurity in their domains.
