By Kazeem Waris
The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation, MDPCO, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to adequately secure Nigerians, following the abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
The campaign organisation, in a press statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, said the abduction was evidence of what it described as worsening insecurity under the Tinubu administration.
The Imo State Police Command confirmed that gunmen attacked two buses conveying prospective corps members and other passengers along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. Police said 10 victims had been rescued while search-and-rescue operations continued.
Reacting to the incident, the MDPCO said it was “profoundly saddening and heartbreaking” that young Nigerians travelling for national service could be abducted.
“It is profoundly saddening and heartbreaking that under the watch of the Tinubu-led administration, parents toil, make immense sacrifices and struggle through biting economic hardship to train their children through tertiary institutions, only for them to be handed over to terrorists and bandits,” the organisation said.
The campaign body alleged that the NYSC incident was part of a wider security challenge affecting communities, highways, schools, markets and places of worship across the country.
It further claimed that more than 600,000 Nigerians had been killed by terrorists, bandits and other armed groups during the Tinubu administration, but provided no evidence for the figure in its statement.
“Sadly, Nigeria under President Tinubu is fast degenerating into a failed state where the primary constitutional duty of government, which is to ensure the security and welfare of citizens, has collapsed,” the organisation said.
Campaign canvasses Makinde’s security record
The MDPCO acknowledged the sacrifices of security personnel but alleged that the Federal Government had yet to establish an effective intelligence-driven security system capable of adequately protecting citizens.
It urged President Tinubu to adopt what it described as the security approach of Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the APM, Seyi Makinde, citing intelligence gathering, inter-agency collaboration, preventive measures and rapid response.
The organisation also said Makinde had demonstrated what it described as the capacity and experience to provide leadership on national security.
The campaign body said Nigerians were looking toward the 2027 presidential election for an alternative, while canvassing support for the Makinde/Daura ticket.
INEC’s current timetable schedules the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027.
The MDPCO expressed solidarity with families affected by the recent abduction and called for intensified efforts to secure the release of those still in captivity.
