The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made a bold claim by declaring that the ruling party All Progressive Congress (APC) are set to instigate violence in order to derail the upcoming 2023 General Election.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, raised the alarm at a media briefing, today in Abuja.
Hon. Debo said: “We have called you today to through you alert Nigerians and the International Community of plots by enemies of democracy to frustrate and ultimately disrupt the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
We alert Nigerians that in compliance with the directive by the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his Party members to deploy violence and snatch power in the 2023 general elections, the APC having realized that it has been rejected, has commenced its violent attacks to frustrate the conduct of the elections.
“Nigerians can recall how the deflated and desperate Asiwaju Tinubu, in a closed-door meeting in London earlier this month, declared to his members that ‘political power is not going to be served in a restaurant, it is not served a la carte.”
He further added: “In response to this directive, APC leaders and members have now activated plots to derail the electoral process through orchestrated violent attacks in various States of the country aimed to trigger a nationwide security emergency situation, instil fear and make it appear in conducive to conduct elections in the country.
“Part of the plot is the current attacks on the facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in various parts of the country as witnessed in Ogun, Osun and Imo States where sections critical to the conduct of elections particularly those connected to the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were targeted and destroyed.”
It is apparent and disturbing that the APC Presidential Candidate has not issued any caution against the many acts of violence linked to members of his party.
“His body language and comments suggest the condoning of the ongoing violence in our electoral process.
“Of course, the London meeting where Asiwaju Tinubu directed his Party members to unleash violence on Nigerians was a closed-door event which inadvertently leaked to the public.
“The aim of the APC was to hit our nation with violence and mislead security agencies to direct their investigation on criminal elements and social restiveness, instead of the real culprit, the APC.
“The design is to create tension across the country to validate a narrative that elections cannot hold, then orchestrate a Constitutional crisis with a view to justifying a shifting of the elections and perpetuate certain APC elements in office beyond May 29, 2023.
“The alarm raised by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on the several attacks on INEC’s facilities as widely reported in the media further confirms our fears.”
The PDP Spokesperson quoted the INEC Chairman as saying, “Since the 2019 general elections, up till 2022, we have recorded 50 attacks in 15 States of the federation, but the ones we recorded in 2022 are the ones we consider as systematic and coordinated and these are the ones that are targeted at derailing the preparations of the Commission from conducting a free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“If these attacks go into January and February, it may be difficult for us to recover from these attacks.
“This is because if you look at Section 134 of the Constitution, it has a threshold that a candidate must meet before that candidate can be declared winner of any election.
“The INEC should immediately invoke its regulatory powers and impose sanctions on the APC Presidential Candidate for constituting a clear and present danger to the electoral process.
“Our Party also calls on the International Community to impose strict sanctions including travel restrictions on APC leaders found culpable of instigating and encouraging violence in the electoral process.
“The PDP again demands that President Muhammadu Buhari should call Asiwaju Tinubu and his Party members to order so that Nigerians can peacefully choose their next President through a free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process.”
Recall that the INEC’s chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said that this year’s election won’t be business as usual, so it’s left to see how the body and other concerned bodies tackle this revelation from PDP.
