Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that the withholding of appropriated security funds is directly responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 Nigerians since the beginning of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
In a statement by his senior special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) cited revelations by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as vindication of long-standing opposition concerns.
He said independent conflict monitors had estimated that well over 17,000 Nigerians had been killed in violent attacks since the government took office, with thousands more abducted by terrorists, bandits and other criminals.
“These are not mere statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, farmers, students and breadwinners whose lives have been cut short. Behind every number is a family condemned to a lifetime of grief,” Atiku said.
He argued that Monguno’s intervention exposed the consequences of alleged fiscal mismanagement. “For months, the APC dismissed every concern raised by the opposition about budget implementation, security funding and fiscal opacity as politics. Today, one of its own ranking senators has asked the very questions Nigerians have been asking,” he said.
According to him, the senator questioned why duly enacted budgets were allegedly not being faithfully implemented, why trillions of naira generated by the Federation were reportedly being retained rather than distributed as required by the Constitution, and why security agencies had reportedly not received capital releases despite the worsening crisis.
The former Vice President said an ADC administration under his leadership would overhaul Nigeria’s security architecture, ensuring that “every naira appropriated for national security is released promptly and accounted for,” while restoring intelligence-led policing and deploying modern surveillance technology.
“Nigeria does not need a president who merely mourns the dead after every massacre. Nigeria needs a president who protects the living,” he said.
Source: Vanguard.
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