*As Buhari’s supporters mark his 78th Birthday
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, led hundreds of party supporters on Thursday, demanding immediate rescue of abducted Kankara students of Katsina State by the Boko Haram insurgents.
The supporters comprising of women and youths stormed the Presidential campaign headquarters of the PDP in Maitama, Abuja displaying placards bearing such inscriptions like “Buhari has failed,” “Buhari, bring back our boys,” “Buhari values his cows more than human lives,” among others. The protesters stressed that time has come for the President to step aside adding that his inability to secure the nation is now glaring for all to see.
In his address, the PDP boss urged President Buhari to remember that the parents of the abducted students are passing through a trauma of the unusual kind, saying, “This is a peaceful protest to make the entire country and international community to be aware of what is going on in our country.
“All we are saying is Buhari, bring back our boys from Katsina. We are in pain, the parents are in pain, the entire country is in pain, we’re in agony, we are in sorrow. It is high time for the government of the day, the All Progressives Congress, APC government to bring back our boys from Katsina. That is the bold statement by PDP today with this peaceful protest,” he said.
You may wish to recall that last week, gunmen stormed the Government Science Secondary School Kankara, in Katsina, and took away hundreds of students; a development that elicited nationwide outcry.
Two days later, factional leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau in an audio message claimed responsibility for the abduction, saying the boys were taken away to save them from the corrupt influence of the western education they were getting in the school.
Meanwhile, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and supporters of Muhammadu Buhari converged at the unity fountain Abuja on Thursday to celebrate his 78th birthday.
Buhari’s supporters in a carnival like setting, wearing colourful T-shirt with scintillating music said that President Buhari was the best thing that happened to Nigeria. They said that his administration has tackled corruption, curbed insecurity and revamped the economy.
