The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday resumed their political feud over allegations by the former that the latter was heightening plot to derail next month’s presidential election and impose an undemocratic situation on the country.
Specifically, PDP said the APC and its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu have resorted to disrupting the much anticipated polls because they have realised that they have no chance at all of winning.
But in a swift reaction, the APC presidential campaign council has fired back at the PDP, saying the opposition party is worried about the outcome of the polls to the extent that it is now afraid of its shadow.
Insisting that the governing party was planning to scuttle the 2023 polls, PDP said APC and its presidential candidate have been blackmailing critical election stakeholders to accede to its design to postpone the 2023 general elections, particularly the February 25, 2023 Presidential election.
The PDP national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja, however, insisted that the February 25, 2023 presidential election date is sacrosanct, stressing that Nigerians are ready to vote out the APC.
The PDP urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to succumb to APC’s blackmails but focus on delivering a free, fair, transparent and credible election on February 25, 2023.
Ologunagba said, “Our Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been following the many furtive narratives being promoted by the APC with the view to blackmail critical election stakeholders to accede to its design to postpone the 2023 general elections, particularly the February 25, 2023 Presidential election.
“Our Party had earlier alerted the nation of a well-oiled plot by the APC to orchestrate security situation and promote circumstances to warrant the postponement of the 2023 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The ultimate intent of the APC is to use such unfounded circumstances to derail the entire electoral process and impose an undemocratic situation on our country.
“The PDP hereby insists without equivocation that the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly election date is SACROSANCT. February 25, 2023 date is already locked in for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, the security agencies have given their assurances, the Federal Government has also given its assurance; Nigerians are ready for election and will not accept any postponement of elections under any guise whatsoever.
“The APC and its Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu know that they have no chance at all in the coming elections, having been rejected by Nigerians because of their multiple failures, recklessness, humongous corruption, violence and continuing infliction of pains, hardship and life-discounting experiences on Nigerians in the last seven and half years.
“Nigerians are not ready to continue with a hopelessly corrupt, miserably incompetent and viciously insensitive political party, the APC, which has mortgaged the future of our country with an accumulated N77 trillion debt as revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO).”
PDP further said this explains why the APC and its presidential candidate have continued to promote and encourage violence in various parts of the country, including attacking INEC facilities.
The PDP spokesman said APC and its leaders are desperate to use their doomsday orchestrations to frighten and blackmail INEC to alter the electoral schedule after which the APC will take advantage of the situation to unsettle the general election, foist a constitutional crisis and truncate the nation’s democratic process.
“The PDP therefore charges INEC, as an independent institution not to succumb to the blackmails of the APC but focus on its preparations and fix its eyes on delivering a free, fair, transparent and credible election on February 25, 2023.
“The PDP also demands that Security Agencies should place APC leaders on watchlist and take urgent steps to halt APC’s implementation of Asiwaju Tinubu’s directives to his party members, as contained in the recently leaked video, to deploy violence and underhand dealings in the 2023 general elections.”
In a related development, the PDP also accused the APC of attempting to mislead the public by falsely claiming that the PDP has no candidate for Borno Central Senatorial District Election.
Ologunagba said his party has been made aware of mischievous and misleading claims by the APC, that the PDP has no candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial election scheduled to hold on February 25, 2023.
Reacting to PDP’s claims, the APC presidential campaign council said the opposition party was disturbed about the outcome of the polls and was afraid of its shadow.
The council, in a statement issued by its director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, said the APC and its campaign team have nothing but pity for PDP, noting that the opposition party has “become a mess and total embarrassment to itself and its despondent members”.
APC said while PDP is bereft of tangible things to tell Nigerians six weeks to the general election, its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, “disappeared from the campaign trail, PDP has resorted to making irresponsible statements just to fill media space.
“The latest is the false information that the Federal Government and INEC plan to postpone the general elections. Nigerians are advised to ignore this senseless conjecture from PDP as there is no iota of truth in the allegation,” Onanuga added.
He recalled that INEC President Muhammadu Buhari had stated clearly that it is ready to conduct the elections and that the polls will hold as scheduled in February and March this year.
Chiding the PDP over allegation of disrupting the forthcoming polls, Onanuga said, “Knowing that it has no path to victory and no real agenda for development to sell to Nigerians by its absentee presidential candidate, PDP has nothing profitable again to engage in other than raising false alarms, manufacturing outright lies and disseminating innuendos to deceive the public.
“PDP should know that Nigerians have rejected it and no amount of falsehood can redeem a political party that wrecked our economy, under its watch, created massive insecurity and looted money meant for development.
“If we go by what the party’s presidential candidate has been saying, no lesson about the ignoble past has been learnt as he has promised to sell the NNPC Limited assets for just $10 billion, the way he sold prime national assets for peanuts under his care.
“As a party and presidential campaign council, we are focused on the message of renewed hope of our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.”
Atiku Will Transform Nigeria – UNM
Meanwhile, the United Nigeria Movement (UNM), a political organisation, has expressed confidence in the ability of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to transform Nigeria, if elected in the forthcoming presidential election.
The national chairman of the movement, Alhaji Abubakar El-Nafaty, made stated this at a news briefing to endorse Atiku and Okowa’s presidential ticket, on Thursday in Abuja.
El-Nafaty said the organisation had after the assessment of all the variables in respect of the election decided to pitch its tent with the PDP and by extension the former vice president.
He said that the PDP had done well in their first 10 years, adding that in spite of all its failings, the party managed to stabilise the country and increased the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) by more than 20 per cent during its tenure.
El-Nafaty noted: “We have carefully studied the three political parties that are the front runners namely APC, PDP and the Labour Party.
“We have taken time to go through the records of their presidential candidates and assess them based on the following four criteria.
“National spread and acceptance, political experience and will, the political manifesto of each party, leadership qualities and charisma and ethical standing.”
The national chairman of the movement said based on the assessment of the group, Atiku was the only presidential candidate who has what it takes to pull Nigeria out of the doldrums.
“We have endorsed him for several months now and we have registered with the PDP as s support group. If by the will of God he becomes our President, the movement will remain by his side and offer our support in any way possible.
“Atiku is the most experienced national politician amongst the three candidates. He was VP from 1999 to 2007. Political experience and will are paramount because of the great challenges ahead.
“Atiku has a degree of acceptability within the whole country. He is a patriot and a first class nationalist who believes in the indivisibility of Nigeria and complete unity,’’ he said.
Mr Charles Ojugbana, national vice chairman of UNM, said already the group in collaboration with other organisations was mobilising electorate across all over the country to vote for Atiku.
“Many of us just returned from our various electoral wards and polling units, Local Governments and states. The bulk of the votes come from the grassroots and we have mobilised our members in 774 Local Governments in Nigeria to ensure victory for Atiku.
“In addition, the United Nigeria Movement is not standing alone, we are in coalition with several other support groups across the country and our greatest strength resides at the grassroots,’’ he said.
