The clarification followed criticisms from the ADC, which on Sunday condemned the PDP for holding its governors’ meeting in Zamfara, barely days after fresh killings in the state. The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the PDP of insensitivity, alleging that the opposition party was prioritising politics over human lives.
The ADC further urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara, describing the PDP governors’ gathering as “a political rally staged at the scene of mass murder.” It criticised the public display of photographs of the governors in ceremonial attire, saying such images were “totally out of place in an environment still reeling from bloodshed and grief.”
Responding in a statement, the Director General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Emmanuel Agbo, dismissed the ADC’s reaction as “irresponsible,” insisting that the Zamfara meeting had been scheduled in advance and was not an act of political insensitivity.
“The Zamfara meeting was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was a platform to deliberate on critical national issues, including the state of insecurity, which dominated our resolutions,” the statement read. “Playing politics and attempting to gain political capital from human lives is not our stock in trade, but it appears to be characteristic of the ADC.”
Agbo further noted that the PDP has grown stronger and more focused since some of its members defected to the ADC, accusing the latter of previously constituting a “huge clog to national unity and harmony.”
The PDP governors, in their communique, commended the Zamfara State government for initiatives aimed at curbing insecurity, while also condemning ongoing killings in Katsina, Plateau, Niger, Benue, and other states. They urged the federal government to take more decisive steps in safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians.
According to Agbo, the forum remains committed to addressing the worsening security challenges, unlike the ADC, which he accused of “playing to the gallery” rather than demonstrating genuine concern.
