Opposition parties say the NSA may be right in blaming the ruling party for insecurity in the land
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has spoken in support of the National Security Adviser, Andrew Azazi’s claim that increasing spate of Boko Haram attacks and insecurity in the north is rooted in the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s discriminatory politics.
Reacting to President Goodluck Jonathan’s defence of the PDP in the matter, the CNPP cautioned the administration against dumping “the message or the messenger.”
“President Jonathan should look at the mirror, do soul searching and reflect in order to stamp out the Boko Haram and other anti-democratic elements in his cabinet, the legislature and the judiciary as he once told the world; this is Gen. Azazi’s message,” the coalition said in a statement on Sunday.
Azazi made the comment as a guest speaker at the South-South Economic Summit last Thursday in Asaba, Delta State capital. He attributed the rise of the deadly extremist group, Boko Haram, and general insecurity in the north, to the PDP’s poor internal democracy that left many followers embittered.
“We do not need to politicise the security challenge on our hand,” the retired general said. “And most people are not comfortable when I say in some quarters that the PDP is to be blamed for some of these problems. The PDP got it wrong from the beginning by claiming that its convention and rules state that this person can rule and this person cannot.”
During a visit to the scene of last Thursday’s bomb attacks on the Abuja office of ThisDay Newspaper, the president said while he disagreed with Azazi’s position, he would better respond after hearing more from him, adding that Nigerians should ask the general “what exactly he meant.”
The PDP in a statement on Saturday criticised Azazi’s comments and advised the NSA to steer clear of partisan issues. “We urge Mr Azazi to focus on his job, if he is to continue to enjoy the backing of the ruling party,” the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh said.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) said Azazi should not be punished for telling “the bitter truth that the party by conduct is undemocratic, despotic, and unabashedly exclusive.”
“President Goodluck Jonathan and his party should honourably accept the responsibility that the fierce struggle for power is the root cause of the fault lines dislocating our democracy,” the statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the CNPP, Osita Okechukwu, said.
