Obaseki: APC’s economic mismanagement cause of insecurity — only PDP can help Buhari

Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, says the rising insecurity in the country is caused by the way the All Progressives Congress (APC) has mismanaged the country’s affairs.

In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed a spate of killings, kidnapping and arson perpetrated by bandits, gunmen and insurgents in different parts of the country.

Speaking on the security situation in the country on Monday when members of the south-south working committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) paid him a visit, Obaseki said the “lawlessness and indiscipline” of APC led Nigeria to the present situation.

The governor, however, noted that the country cannot tackle the rising insecurity, if the “structural imbalance” in the federal system is not addressed.

He added that only the PDP can help President Muhammadu Buhari solve the challenges bedeviling the country.

“The way the ruling party has managed and mismanaged the economy of this country is the reason why we are having the level of insecurity that we are faced with today,” Obaseki said.

“The lawlessness, indiscipline by the ruling party has brought us to where we are. We run a federation. We have three tiers of government: federal, state and local governments.

“Why should security be exclusive to the federal level? What happened to the other two? Until we address that structural imbalance, we are not going to be able to deal with security at its core.

“The country has a major problem and it’s only the PDP that can help the president solve the problem, not his party.

“Let us, as party men and Nigerians, help rescue the nation and call on those that have the capacity to rescue Nigeria. Security is local and we can rescue this nation; this is why Edo is relatively peaceful.”

Obaseki’s latest comment comes weeks after he stirred controversy over his claim that about N60 billion was printed in March to support allocation to states — he had also said Nigeria is in “huge financial trouble”.

However, the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have denied the governor’s claim.