The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately deploy decisive action to rescue prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State on Independence Day.
The organisation also demanded the unconditional release of Nigerians held captive by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers across Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno and other parts of the country.
In a statement on Sunday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the MDPCO expressed concern that four days after the abduction, the corps members were still in captivity despite public outrage and earlier calls for their immediate rescue.
The campaign organisation said the prolonged silence over the incident was unacceptable, particularly because the Federal Government assumes direct responsibility for the safety and welfare of youths once they are mobilised for the national service scheme.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu lives up to his billing as a Commander-in-Chief and bring back the prospective National Youth Service Corps members who were abducted in Imo State on Independence Day,” the statement said.
The MDPCO also invoked Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
It argued that the constitutional obligation becomes even more compelling in the case of NYSC members, whose deployment to various parts of the country is undertaken by the Federal Government.
The organisation said Nigerians could no longer afford a government that treats insecurity with rhetoric and “lip service”, insisting that the scale of abductions and killings demanded urgent action.
“One hour in captivity is one hour too long, and one victim in captivity is one victim too many,” it declared.
The MDPCO accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of failing to decisively confront insecurity, alleging that more than 600,000 Nigerians had been killed by terrorist elements over the period referenced by the organisation, while countless others remained in captivity.
It said the situation had become “unacceptable” and could no longer be ignored by Nigerians.
While maintaining its political opposition to the Tinubu administration and its stated determination to vote it out in 2027, the MDPCO said the immediate priority should be the safety of citizens currently held captive.
The organisation therefore urged Tinubu to “act now”, deal decisively with insecurity and secure the safe return of the abducted corps members and other Nigerians languishing in the hands of their captors.
