Gabriel Suswam, immediate past governor of Benue State, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s government does not have the capacity to protect lives and property.
He also said that even though the nation may have gone out of recession, the change does not manifest in the life of the average Nigerian because the economic programmes of the APC had failed.
Suswam is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The former governor made this known while speaking to a group of journalists in Makurdi at the weekend.
He said when economic issues are not handled properly they lead to security issues such as the nation is experiencing at the moment.
Suswam said: “Issues of security and economy are linked together. Once we have economic issues such as what we have now, they lead to insecurity.
“I heard they say we are out of recession, that does not reflect on the per capita income of ordinary Nigerians and that can degenerate into security situations.
“So economic failure is directly linked to this security issues as we are seeing now.
“When we had security issues while we were in government, the opposition (the APC) took time to criticise us and showed to the Nigerian people that there was a government (Goodluck Jonathan’s PDP led administration) that was incapable of protecting lives and property.”
Suswam also noted that the reason for which the APC was voted to power may have been the belief that the PDP administration had failed Nigerians.
The former governor, however, said it was now left for Nigerians to decide whether security issues had reduced or increased with the coming of the APC administration.
He said: “And the basis for which they were voted was that the people believed that these people (PDP) have failed and these new people (APC) that promised us heaven and earth may likely protect us.
“It is left now for Nigerians to decide whether they have been able to de-escalate the security challenges in the country, as it were, or that it has rather heightened.
“My own personal opinion is that there is worse security and economic situations now than they were during Jonathan’s time.
“That shows there is a failure in the way things are being managed, and I think that other than play politics with it, we should all sit together on a table and proffer solutions that are viable enough to protect the people; for now, we are playing politics with everything.
“The party (APC) came in at the backdrop of propaganda and they have continued as if they are in opposition, that is very bad.
“We were told that Boko Haram was totally annihilated, it’s unfortunate that Boko Haram is strong enough to go into a school and kidnap one hundred and eleven girls (Dapchi girls) and up till now they have no clue as to where those girls have been moved.
“This is something that is unthinkable, unacceptable, and I believe that PDP is the only viable platform to protect Nigerians.”
He added: “We (PDP) did our best, made our own mistakes but this government shows that it has no capacity to protect lives and property, and as you can see, it is now across the entire nation.”
“It’s no longer located in one place; it’s in Benue, it’s in Adamawa, it’s in Ondo, it’s in Edo, it’s in Ekiti, it’s in Borno, it’s everywhere. And so it is left for you and me to judge what we need to do in 2019.”
Asked if he felt PDP would stage a comeback in 2019, he said: “It is not what I think, it is what you people (electorate) feel.
“As a Nigerian, are you faring better now? The answer lies in your hands. That card is your power. So exercise it and let’s see what happens in 2019.”
