Following death threats received by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and members of his family over his ambition to become president in 2019, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) should be held responsible should any harm befall Atiku or any of the PDP presidential aspirants ahead of the general elections.
The party said in a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary, in Abuja on Saturday that its position is predicated on its comprehensive consideration of all issues relating to the threats to the life of the former Vice President, as well as similar threats and harassments of other presidential aspirants in its fold, “just as our party places all these threats at the doorstep of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC.”
The PDP said it did not take the threats as a ruse and demanded an open inquest into all the issues raised by Atiku in his petition to President Buhari.
The main opposition party posited: “It is public knowledge that the APC has been on frenetic mode over the calibre and popularity of presidential aspirants arraying in our party platform.
“The APC knows that President Buhari is no match for any of our aspirants hence the resort to violence, harassment and death threats, with a view to frighten and put our presidential aspirants out of circulation ahead of the 2019 elections.
“Nigerians are already aware of how the APC-led Government has been using security and anti-corruption agencies, particularly the Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to harass and hound presidential hopefuls and perceived political opponents of the President, as well as the members of our party on various trumped-up allegations and charges.
“The dysfunctional APC has become distraught by the resurge of Nigerians to our platform since the commencement of electioneering activities, while the APC national secretariat and its state offices have become deserted like graveyards.
“Rather than accepting the reality of their failures ahead of the 2019 elections, the APC has scaled up its proclivities for violence against the opposition.”
The PDP recalled that only last week, “the APC unleashed their thugs to attack our national secretariat with charms and dangerous weapons and attempted to disrupt our activities. This is in addition to series of other attacks on our members in various parts of the country by APC sponsored thugs.”
The PDP wanted the APC to note that “in all, it is fighting a lost battle. The PDP family will never be cowed or intimidated by the evil machinations of the APC as we stand shoulder to shoulder with majority of Nigerians, across the board, in this national emergency of ending the misrule of the Buhari-led administration, which has caused so much harm to our dear nation.”
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