APC Condemns Jonathan For Embarking On Foreign Trips, Campaign Rallies

The All Progressives Congress have condemned President Goodluck Jonathan for embarking on "needless" foreign trips and "campaign rallies" in other states instead of visiting Yobe State, as nearly a month has passed since schoolchildren were killed by Boko Haram.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohanmed, the party reminded the president that he has not yet visited Yobe state to commiserate with the government and the bereaved families.

The party said Mr. Jonathan's refusal to do so shows "insensitivity" and provides a morale booster for the insurgents who attacked the students.

The party said as the father of the nation and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Mr. Jonathan need not be afraid to visit any part of the country for whatever reasons.

The APC said since the president's planned return from his latest trip abroad on Tuesday coincides with the first month of the killings, he should fly straight to Yobe State.

The party reminded the president that since the killings, he has hosted a wasteful centennial celebration, travelled across Nigeria to illegally kick-start his campaign for the 2015 elections and journeyed to Namibia, Italy and The Netherlands in a needless junketing that belies the massive security problems facing the country.

"Mr. President, charity begins at home. You cannot be engaging in photo-ops abroad when your country is burning," the party said.

"In this case, President Jonathan's pointed avoidance of Yobe, where the death of innocent school children highlights the senseless nature of the Boko Haram insurgency, is a morale booster of sorts to the cowards who murdered those children.

"If, however, the President has any reason why he does not want to visit the scene of the gruesome murders to commiserate with the bereaved families, he should tell Nigerians who have continued to wonder why he has been avoiding the state," the party's statement concluded.