The Presidency has described the call on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign as a ploy of those desperately seeking to get hold of power.
The Presidency was responding to the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) call on Tuesday on Buhari to resign because of the worsening security situation in the country, especially in the northern part.
In a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency counselled those in opposition to the administration that resignation would not solve the country’s woes but all stakeholders, including the opposition, working with government to change the situation.
According to the statement, the Buhari-led government was already doing everything required to end the reign of violence, which it noted had snowballed in the current crisis as a result of years of neglect of the indicators to the situation currently bugging the nation down.
“The Presidency does not wish to be drawn into the high-decibel show in the media, taking the nation by the storm from the Northern Elders Forum.
“Publicity is the oxygen for politicians who have failed to connect with voters in a democracy.
“It is enough to say from our part, that resignation call on of the President is not a solution to the security problems facing the country, something that has built up to a worrisome level following decades of neglect.
“It is more important that citizens know what their government is doing to deal with this situation and for politicians to come to terms with the fact the it is beneficial to all that they help to preserve the state so that when it is their turn, they will have a place that they will manage.
“People don’t have to destroy what is there in a desperate quest to get power”, the statement said.
It assured citizens that the administration was doing what is required of it to refocus the fight against terrorism and other forms of criminal activities across the country, even as new massive equipment are being assembled to aid the campaigns.
“In response to the recent spike in terrorist activity, particularly in the Kaduna and Niger States axis, the defense establishment, in response to presidential directives, has realigned and reorganized the ongoing operation in the areas, as well as that going on in the Niger Delta region.
“The new operations structures are being reinforced with land-based assets to increase the efficiency of the troops and intelligence is equally being reinforced.
“The air defense system is being reinforced with newly-acquired jets and drones which assemblage and training for operators has been hastened to meet the current exigencies.
“The country is equally getting assurances of early delivery of equipment on order from manufacturers and the effort is ongoing to conclude other major procurements still in process.
“Only this morning, the government at a meeting of the cabinet, approved the procurement of the largest ever single procurement of military vehicles.
“At the same time, similar major operations are going in the South-East and the South-South where the economic life wire of the nation and electricity transmission lines are currently being secured from saboteurs”, it said.
It also noted that more than just the coordinated assaults of terrorists on the country, there other elements who had in recent times engaged in acts of sabotage against critical national assets, like those in the power sector, with the singular purpose of making the Buhari-led government seem as failing in its duties.
It, however, assured citizens that the results of government efforts at stabilizing the nation would soon become visible, adding that the efforts had also yielded some arrests.
“What the sponsored saboteurs aim to show is that the government cannot provide power, sabotaging equipment at switches and other vital points. They will not succeed. The public knows who is who, and who has done what in our country’s governance.
“Massive gains being made will shortly be manifesting. Large number of arrests have equally been made.
“Nigerians are assured that the government will keep its promise to the nation and threats to security will be handled with the firmness they call for. And government will remain firm in securing the country’s unity and progress”, the statement said.