•Agbedi and Tinubu
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Frederick Agbedi, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s failure to visit Oyo State in the wake of the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in the state.
Agbedi spoke when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, asking Tinubu to resign if he is unable to secure the country.
“Yes, since he’s unable, he should quit,” the Bayelsa lawmaker said last night when he was asked if the president should resign due to the rising rate of insecurity in Nigeria.
“Take, for example, Mr. President went to Jos. He went to Jos to sympathise with the people of Plateau State who suffered an insecurity attack. What did the president say? He said the Jos airport had no lights, so in the next 10 minutes, he was going to leave. He didn’t even go to see the people; he met the people at the Jos airport.
“Let me ask you, you said there was no light on the tarmac. Beautiful. Are you ready to lead your people? Let me tell you how many children are in captivity in Oyo State. The president was in Lagos. So, the president was in Lagos — did he go to Ibadan? He sent his NSA,” Agbedi said.
Over 40 students and teachers were abducted in the state last month, sparking national outrage and protests.
Following the development, President Tinubu sent a high-powered delegation, including his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu; and others to the South-West state.
The president promised to ensure the release of the abductees, vowing that terrorism has no room in Nigeria.
More than one month after they were taken away, the abductees are still in captivity.
Several interest groups like the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), civil society organisations, and social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, better known as VDM, took to the streets in protest against the abduction. They asked the authorities to rescue the students and teachers.
Reacting to the abduction, the minority caucus of the lower chamber gave Tinubu six months to fix insecurity in Nigeria or quit.
