August 17, 2018
Press Statement
PDP To APC: Your Resort to Blackmail Cannot Sway Nigerians
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has told the All Progressives
Congress (APC) that its resort to blackmail, twisting of facts and
fabrications cannot sway Nigerians from the truth of their culpability
in the impasse at the National Assembly.
The party said Nigerians are already aware of how the APC has been
frustrating the National Assembly by creating hitches, illegal
impeachment processes, physical blockage of the National Assembly access
and besieging of the official residence of Senate President and his
deputy, Senators Bukola Saraki Ike Ekweremadu respectively.
Nigerians know those who set security agents after the National Assembly
members, set parliamentarians against one another and have been chasing
lawmakers around the country with tons of money as bribe, just to
illegally change the leadership.
We are not amazed that the APC, in its characteristic shambolic denials,
will turn around to point accusing fingers at our repositioned party and
members for the situation in the National Assembly, when the echoes of
their open threats, tantrums, verbosity and loquaciousness against our
legislators are yet to evaporate from the public space.
The APC is pretending not to remember that the Buhari Presidency
deliberately kept the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
budget submitted to it since February till July when it presented it to
the National Assembly and curiously demanded that the fund be vired from
the constituency project fund of lawmakers.
Nigerians will recall that as a patriotic and responsible party, the PDP
raised the flag and pointed out that bringing the budget in July, at the
time the National Assembly was already going on annual vacation, was
rather late and asking that the fund be vired from constituency project
fund was sinking the INEC budget and the entire 2019 electoral process
in a needless controversy. The APC and the Buhari Presidency ignored
this wise counselling.
Furthermore, the APC in it deception fails to note that Nigerians are
aware that it is President Buhari that is holding the nation to ransom
by refusing to sign the Electoral Act Amendment bill, already passed by
the National Assembly, just because the amendment checked the
machination which APC intend to deploy to rig the 2019 general
elections.
Moreover, relevant National Assembly committees have been having
interface with INEC over the budget presented by the President. Except
for the sinister intent of the APC to shut down our National Assembly
and bring forth a totalitarian system of government, there is nothing
deserving of the wailing of the APC to reopen the chambers of the
National Assembly at its instance. The rules for reconvening the
chambers of the National Assembly are extant.
Also, since the PDP told its members to rise in defence of democracy and
stop the rigging and vote buying of the APC, the ruling party has gone
hysterical and making all manners of spurious and diversionary
allegations, but it will be instructive for the APC to accept that it
has failed Nigerians and the people have resolved to vote them out, come
February, 2019.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
