By BASHIR ADEFAKA
Nigeria’s governing All Progressives Congress (APC) has told the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) what is expected of it in the coming governorship elections borrowing from the wisdom of a statement by President Muhammadu Buhari which bothers on need for free, fair and credible elections.
The governing party, in a statement issued in Abuja by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena and copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, schooled the PDP and its stalwarts about what lessons they should take away from the President’s assertion that the APC could have used the military to overrun and takeover PDP states but, instead, chose the other way.
To drive home its point, it said the statement meant that the government of the day means business and that under it, ascending to political office through stolen mandates is over.
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration that the All Progressives Congress (APC) could have used the military and other security services to overrun opposition states in the 2019 general election but chose free, fair elections is a solid pointer that under the current administration, the days of stolen and procured electoral mandates are fast fading.
“Critical state institutions such as the Judiciary, INEC, security services have been the ultimate beneficiaries of the President’s impartiality and non-interference. We must all support the independence of our state institutions to deepen our democracy and improve our electioneering system.
“Ahead of the Edo State Governorship election, the PDP candidate, Governor Godwin Obaseki continually spins puerile conspiracies on the role of ‘federal might’, while using his so called “Obaseki Boys” and state apparatus under his control to harass the State House of Assembly and APC members in the state. On his part, Governor Nyesom Wike as head of the PDP campaign council threatens violence.
“While we understand the panic and distress in the camp of the PDP and Governor Obaseki following the massive and widespread support given by the Edo electorate to the APC Governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the APC invites the PDP to join us in issue-based campaigns and at least attempt to sell to the Edo electorate the merit of their candidate, if any.
“The APC’s people-focused development records across the country forms the basis of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s six-point ‘SIMPLE agenda’ for the good people of Edo State which stands for Security, Infrastructural development, Manpower development, Public Private Partnership, Leadership and Employment creation.
“We call on partisans, particularly the PDP to purge themselves of their agelong undemocratic habits of election rigging, vote buying, violence, abuse of state institutions for political ends and address themselves to new realities that under the President Buhari-led APC administration, power now belongs to the people and during elections, votes count,” the APC said in Nabena’s statement.
