The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has warned that Nigerians should not commit the management of the country’s security architecture to Senator Kashim Shettima, the running mate of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
The PDP said it recalled that the Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped during Shettima’s reign as Borno State Governor, an incident which became a global phenomenon.
On the night of April 14, 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State.
Anthony Ehilebo, the PDP’s Head of Digital, mentioned this on Channels Television during an interview, stating that it was unconstitutional for any president-elect to delegate the security power of the country to his vice.
Senator Shettima had earlier said at the recently concluded National Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, that if elected, he would oversee security while his principal, Tinubu, would oversee the economy.
Ehilebo said, “How can you come to the NBA programme and announce on live TV that you will take care of security and your principal will handle the economy?
“Section 130(2) of the 1999 Constitution specifies that it is the role of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. And if he decides to delegate the power, it must be to the armed forces. But here we have a VP candidate telling the world he wants to be in charge of our security.
“This is the same man in charge when the issue of Chibok Girls happened. Shettima ignored the directive to move the students and the terrorists took advantage.
“It is also a fact that a suspected terrorist, Kabiru Sokoto, was arrested in the Governor’s Lodge by the DSS. Today, we have not been able to dissociate him from all that. Unfortunately, Nigerians are more interested in his sneakers and what he wore to the NBA than his statement.”
