Labour Party’s presidential candidate at the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu and the 36 state governors to step up their efforts towards swiftly ending the insecurity that has ravaged the country over the past months.

Making this call in a post on his official X account, Obi who lamented the rising spate of insecurity, urged President Tinubu and the governors to make every effort to reverse the alarming trend of insecurity while anticipating the introduction of state policing.

Obi warned that the country’s increasing insecurity, as well as its high levels of hunger and poverty, could lead to a national disaster.

Obi’s statement read, “While the idea of State Policing as discussed recently by the President and the 36 States Governors, is a welcome development, and while looking forward to its implementation, which may still take a while, all efforts, at the moment, should be geared towards ending the ugly trend of insecurity in the nation. We should not just wait for the proposed state Police to do the magic while we become lackadaisical and allow criminals to run riot like the recent reports in Zamfara and Kaduna states.

“Waking up every day to the sad news of terror attacks around the country remains very worrisome. Recently, gunmen were reported to have attacked a mosque in Katsina, killing worshippers, and abducting several villagers.

“A terrorist attack was also reported in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State where six persons were reportedly killed and about 50 abducted. What is more worrisome is that these terrorists now boldly target security agents.

“Just yesterday, bandits were said to have attacked a police station in Zamfara killing the Divisional Crime Officer, DCO. These and many other violent attacks and kidnapping-for-ransom in the country should keep the government and security agencies on their toes.

“Such a high level of insecurity when combined with the high level of hunger and poverty in the country, forms a perfect recipe for disaster in our nation. We must therefore take all possible measures to ensure the security of lives and property in our dear nation.

“I urge the government and our security agencies to expedite action on ending these terror attacks on the Nigerian people and ensure that every Nigerian is free to live securely in every part of the nation. I commiserate with the families who have lost dear ones to these violent attacks in the nation while praying for the safe rescue of those in captivity.”