Nigeria can't rely on Shettima for security, says the PDP

Due to its history, the Peoples Democratic Party has cautioned that Nigeria cannot afford to leave Senator Kashim Shettima, the vice presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress, in control of the country's security.

Anthony Ehilebo, the PDP's head of digital, made this statement on Sunday's episode of Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

Shettima, a panellist at the recently concluded National Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, had stated that, if elected, he would be in charge of the economy while his principal, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would be in charge of security.

"How come you come to the NBA programme and proclaim on live television that you would manage security and your principal will handle the economy?" asked Ehilebo.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is designated as having this responsibility under Section 130(2) of the 1999 Constitution. And if he chooses to assign the authority to someone else, it must be the military. However, a vice presidential candidate is now telling everyone that he wants to be in charge of our security. This is the same man who was in charge when the Chibok Girls controversy arose. The terrorists profited when Shettima disregarded the order to relocate the students.

It is also true that the DSS detained Kabiru Sokoto, a suspected terrorist, in the Governor's Lodge. We are still unable to separate him from all of that today. Unfortunately, rather than his remark, Nigerians are more interested in his sneakers and what he wore to the NBA.

Ayo Oyalowo, a political economist and participant in the APC Presidential Campaign Organization, defended Shettima on the same programme, saying that Shettima's speech had been taken out of context.