Following a bomb blast at the Nyanya crowded motor park,
Abuja on Monday, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the opposition
All Progressives Congress, APC, are pushing the buck at each other’s table. The blast, suspected to have been executed by the Boko Haram
sect, occurred at the early hours of the day.
The official figure of casualties, which were believed to be
conservative, recorded 71 deaths and 124 injured.
The PDP, in a release from its National Publicity Secretary,
Olisa Metuh, has accused the opposition APC of being behind the bombing.
“Desperate persons who seek to undermine and discredit the
present administration and make the nation ungovernable for President Goodluck
Jonathan by instituting a reign of terror against the people,” it said while
insisting that the attack could not be justified for any reason.
“We stand by our earlier statements that these attacks on
our people are politically motivated by unpatriotic persons, especially those
in the APC, who have been making utterances and comments, promoting violence
and blood-letting as a means of achieving political control.
“Nigerians are also aware of utterances by certain APC
governors which have been aimed at undermining our security forces and
emboldening insurgents against the people,” it said further.
However, expressing shock and sadness over the attack, the
APC accused the PDP-led Federal government of incompetence in tackling the
spate of insecurity in he country.
A statement issued in Lagos by the party’s interim National
Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, called for new approach to fight against insurgency.
”It is time for new thinking, new ideas, to stop this
insurgency before it consumes all of us. The attack, right on the outskirts of
Abuja which has been spared this kind of spectacular strike since 2011 means
those behind it are getting bolder and bolder, and it’s time to stop them,” the
release stated.
Meanwhile President Goodluck Jonathan and the Senate
President, David Mark, visited the scene of the blast on Monday.
They were also at the hospitals where the wounded were taken to for medical attention.
The duo cancelled all official engagements for the day,
including the much-prepared-for thanksgiving service for the 100 years birthday
celebration of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, held at St. Peter’s Cathedral,
Aperin, Ibadan on Monday.
The blast has also received wide condemnation from within
and outside the country.
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