Worried by the rising spate of kidnapping in the country, the Forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairmen, on Friday, asked President Bola Tinubu not to hesitate to remove any head of the security agencies that are found wanting in his or her responsibilities.
The visiting chairmen also described the crisis in the Edo state chapter of the party, especially after the governorship primaries, as a storm in a teacup, but added that spirited efforts are on to address all the grievances at the party leadership level.
Briefing newsmen after meeting with President Tinubu in State House, Abuja, Secretary of the Forum, Alphonsus Eba explained that the issue of insecurity was raised during their closed-door meeting with the Commander-in-Chief.
Eba, who fielded a question on the menace of the kidnapping of children, especially in Kaduna State, said: “On the question of the kidnap of pupils in Kaduna State, yes it forms one of the issues about the general insecurity in the country that we raised as a matter of concern to Mr. President.
“We said we are more concerned because from our vintage position, it is very clear there are a lot of distractions going on in this country. There are activities of criminals that are being perpetrated to put the government and our party in bad light.
“We have commended Mr. President for the support, moral and financial that he has given to security agencies. But we came with one humble advice that we gave to Mr. President today as Forum of chairman to say that nobody expects Mr. President as Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to carry arms and go to the battlefield.
“That is why he has his lieutenants, as security agencies in various areas and what we have told Mr. President today, by way of advice, that it is time for people to be held accountable for the actions.
Where a district Police Officer or a Commissioner of Police or whoever that is in control of whatever security architect at whatever level is found wanting, Mr. President should wield the big stick. That was part of what we discussed today.”
Asked whether the issue of the crisis in Edo State also formed the crux of their discussions, Eba, who is the APC Chairman in Cross River State, said, “the Edo State issue came up yesterday (Thursday) in our meeting. We discussed it extensively.
“We had reached some conclusions, but it was not one of the issues we discussed with Mr. President today (Friday) because there are still internal party affairs that we are rising up from here now to continue a meeting with the national Chairman of our party and the NWC.
“Issues around Edo that you are you aware that are already in the public glare are just but a storm in a tea cup and will be resolved at that level of the party leadership. So we did not discuss that with Mr. President.”
Thirty-three of the 37 member-strong Forum of APC chairmen present during the meeting with the President, disclosed that the group was on a solidarity visit to the Nigerian leader, and to discuss issues of national interest.
They further revealed that they also proffered some strategies on how to tackle the myriad of challenges bedevilling the country.
