From John Adams Minna
A former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Niger State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jonathan Vatsa, has alleged that the ongoing violence in Plateau and Benue states is politically motivated and intended to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking with journalists at his residence in Minna yesterday, Vatsa described the killings as part of a larger scheme to discredit the Tinubu-led government and portray it as incapable of addressing insecurity.
“In 2014, the same people set both Christians and Muslims against the Jonathan administration, using insecurity as a weapon to poison and deceive Nigerians and set them against the government.
“They funded Boko Haram, bombs were being thrown everywhere in the country, including Abuja and they organised the kidnapping of Chibok school girls all in an attempt to make Jonathan government very unpopular before Nigerians.
“The same people are back on the drawing board again. The killings in Plateau and Benue are all part of the game plan, it is all about 2027, the government should know this by now
“They are political merchants, if they are not in any government, then that government must not succeed; they will unleash insecurity and violence against the government,” he added.
Vatsa, who is currently the Special Adviser on Public Private Partnership (PPP) to Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State, accused certain individuals he referred to as “political merchants” of orchestrating the current unrest.
“These people believe they own Nigeria. If they are not in power, then that government must not work. They will unleash violence and sponsor terrorism to destabilize any administration that refuses to do their bidding,” he said.
He warned that unless President Tinubu acts swiftly, the orchestrators of the ongoing violence might succeed in making the country ungovernable.
“Tinubu’s government is the real target of this wave of insecurity. He must act fast and decisively before these political merchants remove him from office through sponsored chaos,” Vatsa cautioned.
Despite the challenges, Vatsa expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s re-election prospects.
He said: “If the clueless and visionless Buhari administration could last eight years, I don’t see what will stop Tinubu in 2027. One thing that I know for sure is that in Niger State, there is no vacancy in the government house in 2027 because all the opposition parties seems to have come to terms with the ‘New Niger Agenda’ and the massive infrastructural transformation of the present administration but if President Tinubu thinks there is vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027 so be it.”
The former commissioner also criticised the government’s reluctance to act against the alleged sponsors of violence, saying, “It’s only in Nigeria that criminals and looters are celebrated while law-abiding citizens suffer. Those who should be in jail are given red carpet treatment just because they pledge loyalty to the ruling government.”
Vatsa advised President Tinubu to adopt a tougher stance against insecurity. “Fighting the current security threats requires a certain level of madness. If the President doesn’t have it, he must acquire it quickly before these people consume his government,” he warned.