A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, has advised the federal and state governments to intensify efforts to address the insecurity and economic challenges in the country.
Ogidi, the former PDP National Vice Chairman (South), gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Ogidi said the prevailing level of killing, kidnapping, and other crimes in the country were indications that more actions were required.
“We have not done enough to tackle insecurity. If we had done enough, we would have reduced it.
“There is no country in the world without crime, but the truth of the matter is that we have not done enough,” he told NAN.
Ogidi advised governments to encourage citizens to report crime and support relevant security agencies so that they could discharge their duties more effectively.
He also encouraged citizens not to give up on supporting government efforts to address insecurity in the country.
“My beloved Nigeria is a great country. We should change our narrative. We cannot give up. The government should encourage us not to surrender. It is government responsibility to ensure that we don’t give up,” he said.
Ogidi also urged Nigerians to continue to pray for good leadership and for God to turn the hearts of the wicked to Himself.
Speaking on the recent killing of 16 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta, Ogidi described it as brutal, evil, wicked, and condemnable, saying nothing could justify the killing of security personnel.
Ogidi, who believed that one killing did not justify the other, called for a proper investigation into the matter and to ensure that such did not repeat itself in any part of the country.
He advised the government and the army to ensure those suspected of being involved in the act were not extrajudiciously killed but were investigated and prosecuted upon their arrest.
“They need to be interrogated because we need to interrogate this killing.
“The killing of personnel of our armed forces, police, and paramilitary is one too many. The government should take this advice seriously and not escalate it; rather, we should mitigate it.
“Such occurrences should not be allowed in the future. We have to prevent it,” he said.
Ogidi also appealed to Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta to continue to do whatever it takes to ameliorate the suffering of the people in the affected communities.
Ogidi said the affected communities should give the needed support for a proper investigation of the incident and urged that nobody should be coerced during the investigation process.
“When a man is terrified, he can say what he doesn’t want to say.
“If we really want to get the truth, we don’t have to terrify anybody. People should be allowed to speak their minds. From there, you can get the truth of the matter,” he told Nan.
He advised PDP members to remain faithful, expressing confidence that the party would soon overcome its present challenges.
“Very soon we will have our National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, and we are going to start the process of getting ready for the next convention.
“It is unfortunate that we almost got it in the last two elections, but other forces raised. As part-timers, my advice is that we should be patient and focused.
“The leadership is working hard behind the scenes to make sure we come back with full force to win future elections,” he said.
Ogidi expressed confidence that the PDP would win the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
He urged all members of the party, especially the aspirants in the Edo governorship primary election, to work together for the victory of the party.
He advised aggrieved members of the state to follow internal mechanisms to address their grievances, saying the party would work to reunite all hurt members. (NAN)
