The African Democratic Congress has urged President Bola Tinubu to visit Kebbi State, where 26 schoolgirls were recently abducted.
Tinubu, on Friday, cancelled his planned trips to South Africa and Angola to attend to rising security concerns in the country.
Consequently, Vice President Kashim Shettima departed Abuja to represent the President at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
Reports has it that the Vice President will also lead Nigeria’s delegation to the AU–EU Summit in Angola.
A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, confirmed the development.
The statement, released on Friday, is titled “VP Shettima Departs Abuja to Represent President Tinubu at G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa.”
It read in part: “Following the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stay back in Nigeria and attend to security concerns in the country, Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja to represent the President at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
President Tinubu had postponed his earlier scheduled trip to Johannesburg to await further security briefings on the recent security incidents in Kebbi and Kwara states.”
Tinubu’s decision followed a spate of violent incidents, including the abduction of students in Kebbi, the attack and abduction at a church in Eruku, Kwara State, and the kidnap of several pupils at St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State on Friday morning.
The President will remain in Abuja to receive situation reports from security chiefs and to direct ongoing operations.
He had also tasked security agencies to intensify search-and-rescue efforts and fortify preventive deployments in affected areas.
However, the ADC spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the cancellation of the President’s trip as political theatre.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Abdullahi said, “It is meaningless. It is just political theatre. If the President is staying back because of these issues, did you see him going to Kebbi or Kwara? Everything this government does is about optics and drama. If he wants to prove that he is concerned, he should prove it. We should see him going to Kebbi. He is the Commander-in-Chief, not his VP. If he was going to send his VP, why did he have to cancel his trip? He should go to Kebbi to prove that he is genuinely concerned.”
