The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for President Bola Tinubu’s resignation over his administration’s handling of the escalating school abduction crisis, while condemning the closure of educational institutions as a strategy that inadvertently aids terrorists.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday, PDP National Publicity Secretary Comrade Ini Ememobong criticized the Federal Government’s decision to shut down schools in response to rising kidnappings, warning that the move could help criminal groups achieve their objective of crippling education in Nigeria.
“If the schools are closed, the goal of the terrorists would have been inadvertently achieved,” Ememobong stated, describing the approach as a concession of victory to terrorist organizations.
The opposition spokesman faulted what he termed the Tinubu administration’s “simplistic approach” of shutting institutions to prevent further abductions, calling instead for a comprehensive, intelligence-driven strategy anchored on community vigilance and rapid response systems.
Ememobong emphasized the urgency of implementing the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools, noting that insecurity has become a major disincentive to education, particularly in northern Nigeria.
He warned that school closures would exacerbate the educational crisis in the region, which accounts for the majority of Nigeria’s 18.3 million out-of-school children. “Northern Nigeria alone has 10.2 million out-of-school children at the primary level and 8.1 million at the secondary level. Closing schools will only deepen the crisis,” he said.
The PDP spokesman described the recent wave of abductions in Kebbi, Niger, and other states as “indicative of the alarming insecurity that has become the contemporary lived experience of Nigerians under the APC-led Bola Tinubu government.”
Ememobong specifically criticized President Tinubu’s response to the kidnappings, noting that the president failed to visit affected communities in Kebbi and Niger states to empathize with victims’ families, choosing instead to send the Minister of State for Defence to Kebbi.
“A juxtaposition of the contingents sent to the US Congress and the G-20 meeting with Matawalle’s lone envoy exposes the levity with which the Presidency treats this matter. This reaction is most insensitive and dismissive of the gravity of the problem by the APC-led Federal Government,” he stated.
The opposition party reminded the administration that protecting lives and property remains government’s primary responsibility, issuing an ultimatum to the president.
“We again remind the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government. At any time a government is unwilling, unable, or incapable of executing this primary role, such a government must either ask for help locally or internationally, or honourably resign, if it is sincere and responsible,” Ememobong declared.
The PDP’s call comes as 253 students and staff from St. Mary’s School in Niger State remain in terrorist captivity following Friday’s mass abduction, despite 50 pupils escaping over the weekend. The incident is among several recent school kidnappings that have paralyzed education across northern states and drawn international condemnation, including sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump.
