The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum has defended its recent meeting in Zamfara State, dismissing criticism from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and accusing the opposition party of attempting to “politicise human lives” instead of showing empathy to victims of insecurity.
The Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Emmanuel Agbo, in a statement on Monday, insisted that the meeting was pre-scheduled and focused on critical issues of national concern, including insecurity. He added that since the defection of some members to the ADC, the PDP had grown “stronger, more focused, and determined to stay on course.”
The meeting, which was held in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, on Friday and Saturday, came just days after deadly attacks claimed several lives in parts of the state.
Reacting on Sunday, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara. He accused the PDP governors of lacking empathy for victims of insecurity and being “driven solely by the quest for power.”
The ADC said: “In a similar vein, we condemn the decision of PDP governors to hold their political meeting in Zamfara on Saturday, only a few days after scores of innocent citizens were slaughtered in that same state.
Instead of the governors to rally around their beleaguered colleague to help stop the orgy of killings, they chose to stage a political rally at the scene of mass murder, even if it meant trampling on the memory of the victims.
The photos of PDP governors in full ceremonial robes, grinning for the camera, is totally out of place in an environment that still reeks of so much blood and sorrow.”
In its response, the PDP Governors’ Forum described the ADC’s remarks as “irresponsible,” stressing that “playing politics and trying to gain political capital with human lives isn’t our stock in trade as is characteristic of the ADC.”
The forum maintained that the Zamfara meeting “was scheduled and not a spur-of-the-moment thing,” adding that the ADC should have shown leadership by visiting affected communities to empathise with victims rather than “playing to the gallery.”
According to the forum, deliberations at the meeting focused extensively on insecurity and other pressing national issues. It noted: “The forum particularly commends initiatives by the government of Zamfara State in significantly curbing insecurity within the state; but condemns the continued monstrous killings in Katsina, Plateau, Niger, and Benue States and other parts of the country, and calls on the federal government to be more responsive to the lives and properties of the citizenry.”
The governors also argued that the PDP had become “more formidable” since the exit of some members to the ADC, whom they accused of being “a clog in the wheel of national unity and harmony.”
In a strongly worded rebuke, the forum added: “That the ADC couldn’t see that much isn’t surprising, as the prodigal son wasn’t known to have any pity on his father’s fortune.
The ADC, having made a decision akin to entering a One Chance vehicle, is again reminded that, like the proverbial forgiving father to the prodigal son, the PDP still has our arms and doors widely open to them if they genuinely act remorsefully in repentance.”
