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Tag: PDP

  • Our statements at EFCC not voluntary – Ondo PDP chieftains

    People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Ondo State Clement Faboyede and its former campaign director in the state Modupe Adetokunbo Thursday told the Federal High Court in Lagos that statements they made at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was not voluntary.

    The commission accused them of violating the Money Laundering Act by receiving N500 million in cash ahead of the 2015 general election.

    Faboyede was accused of making N500 million cash payment to the Ondo PDP Election Committee.

    The prosecution said the defendants committed the offence on March 27, 2015, contrary to Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, punishable under Section 16(2).

    Faboyede and Adetokunbo pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned last June 29 and were granted bail for N50 million each with one surety in like sum.

    At the trial Thursday, the second prosecution witness, Mr Usman Zakari, who was led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Mohammed Idris, said he was part of a team that investigated the case.

    According to him, sometime in April 2015, the commission received intelligence report that the defendants received N500 million illegally.

    He said payment receipts showed that the defendants received the cash on March 27, 2015.

    Zakari said an invitation letter was sent to the defendants, which they honoured on December 8, 2016.

    The witness said during the interview, the defendants were shown the payment receipts, and they both identified their signatures, residential addresses and phone numbers.

    According to Zakari, the defendants were subsequently cautioned before their statements were obtained.

    He urged the court to note that the defendants did not present any financial instruments for the withdrawal of the sums, adding that the monies did not emanate from any of them.

    When the prosecutor asked the witness if he would be able to identify the defendants’ statements, he replied, “Yes”.

    Read Also: PDP, Secondus congratulate Wike, others on victory

    Idris then sought to tender the statements, but defence counsel Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) objected.

    He said the statements dated December 9, 2016, December 14, 2016, January 10, 2017, February 14, 2017, May 31, 2017; January 24, 2018, March 22, 2018 and March 28, 2018 were not made voluntarily made.

    He said the fact they were not made voluntarily violated Section 29(2/(a) of the Evidence Act.

    Jegede, however, did not object to the statements of December 8, 2016 and May 23, 2018.

    Defence counsel, therefore, urged the court to order a trial-within-trial so as to test the statements’ voluntariness.

    Justice Saliu Saidu adjourned until May 16.

  • Imo: Tribunal orders substituted service on Ihedioha, PDP

    The Imo State governorship and House of Assembly Petitions Tribunal, Thursday granted the application filed by the Counsel to the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Okey Amechi for substituted service on the governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Chairman of the Panel, Justice M.O Adewara, granted the leave to serve the 2nd and 3rd respondents on the wall of their buildings or by delivering same to an agent at the PDP office situated at No 98 Okigwe Road, Owerri.

    The AA governorship candidate, Uche Nwosu, had petitioned the Election Tribunal to quash the March 9 governorship election which was won by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ihedioha.

    Read Also: Ihedioha: Imagine the future of Imo

    Nwosu had prayed the Tribunal to among other things “determine and thus declare that Ihedioha did not satisfy the requirement of Section 179(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) having failed to poll not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the Local Government Areas in Imo State at the governorship election held on 9th March, 2019.

    “An order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a run-off election between the Petitioners and the 2nd & 3rd Respondents into the office of Governor of Imo State forthwith as prescribed under Section 179 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.

  • ‘How PDP plans to frustrate Lawan’s ambition in ninth Senate’

    THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) plans to poach 13 All Progressives Congress (APC) returning and new Senators to forestall  the emergence of Senator Ahmad Lawan as the President of the 9th Senate President, APC sources have said.

    A source said two Senators approached to be arrow heads of the plans alerted the party hierarchy and Lawan’s campaign team.

    The two senators, one a returning and the other just elected, said a source, were expected to lead PDP to their  colleagues from Adamawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano and Kebbi states.

    The PDP, said our sources, are working for an APC Senator from Gombe.

    A ranking Senator said: “At the moment, Lawan is the candidate to beat, using well known international parliamentary best practices and parameters.

    “All odds are in his favour in terms of experience in the administration of the legislature. He has been in the National Assembly in the last 20 solid years. His achievements at the Committee level are unassailable. Remember the engine room of legislation is the Committee stage. Don’t forget he has a Phd.”

    A  senator-elect, who turned down the PDP offer,  said: “In all parliaments, be it in the Presidential System or Parliamentary System the world over, leadership or presiding officers emerge based on their experiences as leaders of the caucuses. Thus, when a party gains a majority after a general election into Parliament, the leader of the caucus of such a party in the legislature transforms to be the President or Speaker of such parliament in a seamless process. It is an established practice and all stakeholders should make sure we act in conformity with the international standard in this respect.

    Read also: Group backs Lawan, Gbajabiamila for NASS leadership

    “They also discussed with us the revival of the ‘Like Minds Group’ of 2015 and their various social media campaign of calumny, most especially their deliberate attempt to link a National Leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, to the emergence of Senator Ahmad.”

    Meanwhile, the Initiative for Demonstrating Change in Nigeria (IDCN), a pro Buhari group,  backed  Lawan’s aspiration.

    The, group, therefore, urged  members-elect of the National Assembly to support the decision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)  to elect Lawan as Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the Federal House Representatives.

    Mr Chinedu Ogah, the National Coordinator of the group, who spoke to reporters in Abakaliki,  said the contributions of Lawan as the Majority Leader of the 8th Senate were far reaching as they boosted the unity of the country.

    Ogah said: “Ahmed Lawan has displayed maturity as the true leader that will unite the national assembly.

    ” He is a lover of democracy, intelligent, humble and believer in one Nigeria. We should elect him as the Senate President because he has displayed that he does not put party interest above national interest.”

  • PDP, Secondus congratulate Wike, others on victory

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers on his victory in the just-concluded governorship election in the state.

    The governor was declared winner of the poll by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday in Lagos after a resumed collation of ballots of the poll held across the country on March 9.

    Collation of the votes was suspended by the INEC, which cited violence and other electoral irregularities during the election in the state, as reason for the action.

    The PDP in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan,
    described Wike’s re-election as “victory for the people of Rivers and triumph of good over evil.”

    INEC declared that Wike won the election with 886,264 votes, while his opponent, Mr Biokpomabo Awara, of African Alliance Congress (AAC) trailed with 173,859 votes.

    Ologbondiyan said that Wike’s record 700,000 votes margin of victory “speaks volume of the resilience of the people of the state in the face of intimidations, harassment and manipulations by oppressive forces”.

    He said that the victory reinforced the confidence of the people in the resoluteness of asserting their democratic choice of leadership as well as standing in defence of their mandate to the end.

    The party’s spokesman added that the victory also demonstrated that the will of the people would always prevail against every form of suppression.

    He said that All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted to forcefully take over control of the state against the wish of the people.

    Read also: Updated: INEC declares Wike re-elected in Rivers

    “The party salutes and venerates all compatriots who were killed by agents of the oppressors during the election. These compatriots did not die in vain and those who shed their innocent blood will surely be
    brought to book.

    “The PDP commends Wike, the people of Rivers and all lovers of democracy across the board for standing firm until the end to hand this disgraceful defeat to the enemies of the people.”

    Ologbondiyan also congratulated all PDP candidates, who won elections at all levels across the country.

    He assured those pursuing their mandates at the tribunals that the party was fully behind them, “given that they all have water tight cases at the courts”.

    Similarly, PDP National Chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, commended the resilience of party members across the country, particularly the elected ones, for extraordinary show of capacity to resist and withstand brutality, blatant intimidation, harassment and political terrorism.

    In a statement issued by his Media Aide, Mr Ike Abonyi, the chairman said that PDP was proud of all its flag bearers and their conduct during and after the elections.

    “By your peaceful conduct in the face of provocations, you have demonstrated truly that democracy is in your DNA and this we will continue to exhibit until all non-democrats pretending to be one are flushed out of our polity.”

    Secondus said that the victorious PDP flag-bearers did not only contest with All Progressives Congress (APC), but with some INEC and military personnel allegedly compromised.

    He said that the introduction of inconclusive and suspension of polling in the country’s electoral process was ostensibly to aide APC to victory through supplementary balloting.

    Secondus said that the APC, however, could not achieve it aim in Rivers, Bauchi, Adamawa, Sokoto and Benue because of the doggedness of committed democrats in the PDP.

    He particularly commended PDP governors for their re-election which, according to him, revealed their overwhelming performances in the last four years in their various states.

    “From 11 states when we started this journey in December, 2017 to 13 before the election and now, 15, with a very high hope of victory coming our way in five other states of Osun, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kano and Nasarawa.”

    Secondus said that the strategic spread of the PDP victories spoke volume of the character and strength of the party as the only true national platform in the country. (NAN)

  • Elections Petition Tribunal receives 34 petitions in A’Ibom – Scribe

    The Governorship, National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom says it has received no fewer than 34 petitions as at April 1.

    The Tribunal Secretary in the state, Mr Sidiq Abubakar made this known in a document made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Uyo.

    Abubakar said that one of the petitions was filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Mr Nsima Ekere against Gov. Udom Emmanuel of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said the tribunal also received two petitions emanating from the senatorial election, adding that Sen. Godswill Akpabio of APC filed one against Mr Christopher Ekpenyong of the PDP from Akwa Ibom North West.

    The secretary tribunal also said that Mr Bassey Etim of APC filed another petition against Sen. Bassey Akpan of the PDP from Akwa Ibom North East.

    READ ALSO: Delta tribunal receives 51 petitions

    He said eight petitions emanated from the House of Representatives and 23 petitions from the State House of Assembly elections out of the 26 House of Assembly seats.

    “We have received 34 petitions, including that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Mr Nsima Ekere, two petitions from the Senate, eight from the House of Representatives.

    Others are 23 petitions from the State House of Assembly elections,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tribunal also received one petition filed by the PDP House of Assembly candidate, Mr Gerald Umoh against Mr Nse Ntuen of APC from Essien Udim State Constituency.

    No date has been fixed for the tribunal to begin its sitting.

  • Court: Adeleke unfit to run for Osun governor

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, Abuja yesterday voided the participation of  Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Osun State.

    Justice Othman Musa, in a judgment,  annulled Adeleke’s nomination as candidate of the PDP on the grounds that he offended Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    The section states that candidates for governor must be educated up to secondary school level.

    Justice Musa said while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record showing that he (Adeleke) actually graduated.

    The judge said Adeleke’s name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    Justice Musa noted that the result Adeleke attached to the Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

    The judgment was on a suit filed by Wahab Adekunle Raheem and Adam Omosalewa Habeeb.

    The plaintiffs had accused Adeleke of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for the office of governor.

    They contented, among others, that Adeleke’s claim that he sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 could not be true because Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced then.

    The plaintiffs argued that what was in existence then was the West African School Certificate Examination.

    They urged the court to, among others, disqualify Adeleke from participating in the governorship election on the grounds that he did not possess the required educational qualification.

    Read also: Osun tribunal judgment: PDP supporters celebrate Adeleke’s victory

    At the preliminary stages in the case, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in response to a September 11, 2018, ex-parte order by the court,  provided evidence that Adeleke sat for its May/June 1981 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.

    In its affidavit sworn to by Henry Sunday Adewunmi Osindeinde, a Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, WAEC, said Adeleke sat for the May/June 1981 examination at Ede Muslim High School, Yidi Road, Ede, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149.

    WAEC attached a copy of the results of all 122 candidates who sat for the May/June 1981 in Ede Muslim High School.

    In the attached results, Adeleke is listed as number 149. He sat for only English Language in which he scored F9.

    He was said not to have sat for Literature in English, Islamic Knowledge, Geography, Economics, Mathematics and Biology.

    Osindeinde said in the affidavit: “By virtue of my position as Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, I have read the enrolled order of this court (specifically orders iv, v and vi) dated 11th September, 2018 directing and compelling the WAEC to depose to an affidavit confirming or denying the said orders contained in the said enrolled order and referred to in this paragraph and I wish to state as follows:

    “The said candidate named in this suit known as Adeleke Ademola, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149, indeed sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 conducted by the council at Ede Muslim High School situate at P. O. Box 6 Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun.

    “The copy of the result listing referred to by the court order as the ledger containing the results of all the candidates (001 – 221) who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in the said school is hereby certified, attached and marked: Exhibit WA1.”

    The plaintiff’s lawyer, Bankole Akomolafe hailed the court’s decision. Adeleke’s counsel Nathaniel Oke (SAN) faulted the judgement. He said the judge erred in law by going out of his way to source for evidence to arrive at his “unjust conclusion”.

    The lawyer said the court was wrong when it ignored WAEC’s evidence that Adeleke was educated up to secondary school as required by law.

    Oke said his client was  qualified for the election and met the constitutional requirement, having been educated to secondary school level.

    He said a High Court in Osun State had, in an earlier judgment, confirmed that Adeleke was qualified, having attended a secondary school.

    Oke said he drew the court’s attention to the fact that the case was statute barred in view of the fourth alteration to the Constitution, because as a pre-election matter it was filed outside the stipulated 14 days, but “the judge said my argument was an attempt to arrest his judgment”. “He went ahead to read the judgment.

    He went on: “They said he (Adeleke) did not attend secondary school. They (the plaintiffs) were the one who asked that officials of WAEC be subpoenaed to produce his result. And officials of WAEC tendered his result in court.

    What else do they want to prove that he was educated to secondary school level as required by the Constitution?”

    The lawyer said the issue had been settled by an earlier judgment of a High Court of Osun State, which held that Adeleke was qualified to stand election, having been educated up to secondary school level.

    “We have asked the judge to make the certified true copy of the judgment available to us on time, because we are appealing the judgment,” Oke said.

  • Adelabu, APC challenge Makinde’s victory

    OYO State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Mr. Adebayo Adelabu has approached the Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the victory of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mr. Seyi Makinde.

    Adelabu is praying the tribunal to overturn Makinde’s victory.

    He filed the suit alongside his party, whose state chairman, Chief Akin Oke, had after the result of the election, said the APC was considering approaching the election tribunal to upturn Makinde’s triumph.

    Makinde was on March 10 declared the winner of the governorship election by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, having polled 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu, who scored 357,982 votes.

    The results indicated that Makinde defeated Adelabu with 157,639 votes.

    Oke said: “I want to repeat what I said concerning the outcome of the last governorship election. First, I want to greet all the people who genuinely voted for us. But where there is a genuine case of fraud, of course why not go to court?

    “Do you want us to continue to support fraud? I repeat we will go to court once there are enough grounds to do so.”

    Yesterday, the APC made real its threat as it was listed as the second petitioner.

    The petition has Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first respondent. Makinde and PDP are second and third respondents.

    But, in a reaction, the state secretary of PDP, Mr. Wasiu Adeleke, said there was no cause for alarm because it was glaring from the results across the five geopolitical zones that “Engr. Seyi Makinde won overwhelmingly and polled the highest number of votes and was subsequently declared as winner”.

     

     

  • BMO: you can’t compare Buhari with Atiku

    The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), yesterday, slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s claim that his ex-deputy and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was better than President Muhammadu Buhari.

    BMO, in a statement signed by the Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke in Abuja, said the comment of the former President was a crude joke, ridiculous and contemptible.

    The group said: “We are completely taken aback that someone who, ordinarily should be seen as an elder statesman, has continued to use his position to try to derail the country from the path of progress.

    “We note that while President Muhammadu Buhari has used his four years in office to lay a solid foundation for Nigeria’s sustainable growth, Obasanjo, as Nigeria’s President for eight years created instability by removing Senate presidents and state governors at will.

    “It should be restated that throughout Buhari’s four years in office we have not witnessed a state of emergency in any state, and neither has the administration masterminded the unceremonious removal of any Senate president or state governor.

    “We also recall that Obasanjo’s era was characterised by unbridled corruption with the introduction of Ghana-must-go bags at the National Assembly. Similarly, Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the monumental sleaze that surrounded the power sector contracts under former President Obasanjo, nor the unethical use of his position to build a multi-billion naira presidential library.”

    The group recalled that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had said corruption under former President Obasanjo was worse than the era of the late General Sani Abacha.

    It said: “Many Nigerians are also aware that Obasanjo is responsible for the myriad of problems facing the country today, and rather than make recompense for his sins, he continues to arrogate unmerited knowledge and wisdom to himself.

    “We consider it totally unwarranted for Obasanjo to deride the person of President Muhammudu Buhari who Nigerians have freely given their mandate for another four years. Former President Obasanjo’s outbursts are, therefore, a distraction, which must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians are yet to recover from the corruption that Obasanjo bequeathed to the country, and President Buhari is presently cleaning the Augean Stable. The least Nigerians expect of the former President is to join hands in rebuilding the country from the ruins of PDP’s pillaging over a period of 16 years, eight of which were under Obasanjo.

    “We, therefore, consider the remarks of the former President as a face-saving tactic following the defeat of his preferred candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the presidential poll”.

    The group described as fallacious, despicable and of no consequence, the ranking of Nigeria as the sixth miserable country in the world, saying the ranking was not a true reflection of the situation on the ground, and data for the survey must have been collated from old, archaic sources.

    The group said Steve Hanke and other individuals behind the index did not take into proper account innovation introduced by the Buhari-led Federal Government into governance before arriving at their position.

    Read also: Atiku’s suit lacks merit, bound to fail- BMO

    They said: “A cursory look at the explanatory note by Steve Hanke in the Forbes magazine in which he revealed that the index was calculated using economic indices, such as unemployment, inflation and interest rates banks charge on loans, show how wrong his conclusion was.

    “The index is said to be that of 2018 but the country recorded a number of positives in the same year on the economic front. It was the year that Nigeria had a major decline in inflation figure so much so that the rate is now 11.37 per cent. It was the culmination of a landmark 18-month consecutive decline to a level that is one of the lowest in Africa.

    “We also know that a lower inflation rate has a way of impacting positively on banks’ lending rates and that’s exactly what has happened with the recent reduction in Monetary Policy Rate, yet the index scored Nigeria lower than some countries ravaged by war!”

    BMO, insisted the misery index was neither a true nor accurate reflection of the situation on ground in the country.

    “The authors of the index claimed they pinned their rating of Nigeria largely on the employment figure and while we concede that the number in the public domain has not been flattering, we are convinced that it is not a fair reflection of the job situation.

    “Nigeria’s unemployment data put together by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are not known to cover jobs created in the informal sector and this is an area that the Buhari administration has excelled in the last three and half years.

    “Aside from the rice revolution that has created about 12 million new farmers in recent years, the Buhari administration has introduced one of the continent’s largest social welfare schemes that has impacted the lives of millions of farmers and traders through Farmer Moni and Trader Moni.

    “About nine million jobs have been created by the Home Grown Feeding Programme … These are not figures plucked out of the air…’’ They are real people reaping the benefits of initiatives that were hitherto unknown in the country,” it said.

    “Inspite of what opposition elements and their supporters would want less discerning Nigerians to believe, the economy has continued to show signs of recovery from the 2016 recession. GDP growth rate in 2018 was 1.93% up from 0.8% in 2017. It has now been projected to rise to 3% in 2019.

    BMO also noted that it was not surprised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) latched on the misery index to again take potshots at the Buhari administration so soon after local media published it.

    “Although we at BMO were not surprised, we were certainly amused to see yet another thoughtless statement from the party that is yet to come to terms with its overwhelming rejection by Nigerians.

    “We know that in its quest to remain on the front pages, PDP and its leaders are prepared to celebrate and solicit response to any news item that has the slightest hint of negativity about Nigeria.

    “But there is no way their brusque style can erase the fact that President Buhari spent a large part of his first term in office cleaning up the mess that characterised 16 years of PDP misrule.”

  • Breaking: Court voids Adeleke’s participation in Osun gov poll

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, Abuja has voided the participation of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Osun State.

    Justice Othman Musa, in a judgment on Tuesday,  annulled Adeleke’s nomination as candidate of the PDP on the grounds that Adeleke offended section 177 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

    “The section states that candidates for the position of governor must be educated up to secondary school level.

    Justice Musa said while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record showing that he (Adeleke) actually graduated.

    The judge said Adeleke’s name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    The judgment was on a suit filed by two members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb.

    Read also: Osun tribunal judgment: PDP supporters celebrate Adeleke’s victory

    While plaintiff’s lawyer, Bankole Akomolafe hailed the court’s decision, lawyer to Adeleke, Nathaniel Oke (SAN) faulted the judgement.

    Oke said his client qualified for the election and met the relevant constitutional requirement, having been educated to secondary school level.

    He said a High Court in Osun State had, in an earlier judgment, confirmed that Adeleke was qualified, having attended a secondary school.

    “I asked the judge to make the certified true copy of the judgment available to us on time, because we are appealing the judgment,” Oke said.

    Details shortly…

  • Sokoto: APC warns Tambuwal, PDP against attacks on supporters

    Sequel to what it described as untoward act of aggression, repression and intimidation by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) hoodlums against its supporters in parts of the state, the Sokoto state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday challenged Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and his party to clear the air if they are not the sponsors of the dastardly act.

    APC added; “Anything in the contrary will only go to further confirm that the government is fully behind these dastardly actions and aiding and abetting them.”

    APC further stressed that the PDP administration in Sokoto state owe the peace loving people of the state explanations as to the arbitrary physical assault on civil servants and replacements by PDP hoodlums.

    “Any silence would also confirm our apprehension and due concerns thus APC would be compelled to enforce the rights of its supporters.”

    Addressing an emergency press conference in Sokoto, the state Chairman of APC, Sadik Isah Achida who condemned and lamented over the sad development said the APC in the state remain perplexed and baffled on the nefarious acts meted on its teeming supporters and other electorates who love, cherish and respect the sound and noble ideals of the party.

    “We will not fold our arms and allow such flagrant and dastardly attacks, acts of aggression and intimidation. We will not, even for a second, hesitate in allowing our supporters to use any available means to lawfully defend themselves and enforce their fundamental human rights.

    “Nobody should flagrantly trample on these inalienable rights of our supporters”, Achida vowed.

    In the same vein he explained that the constitution has enshrined some undeniable and defendable rights to any law abiding, bonafide citizen of country. All Nigerians have equal rights and freedom of movement, right to live, right to practice one’s religion, meaningful socio- economic transactions, right to belong to any political party and array of other enforceable rights among others enjoyable by all Nigerians.

    The party chairman further pointed out that despite the PDP peace credentials that filled the airwaves , hoodlums keep parading themselves, caning and flogging people suspected and perceived to be APC supporters, claiming they were cleansing them for integration into the society.

    “It is apt and desirable for the PDP to either confirm its complicity in these atrocities or deny as well bring the obnoxious activities to a halt and take necessary steps to apprehend the perpetrators and charge them to court.”

    According to Achida who raised among other critical questions “is the PDP government in Sokoto aware or not that people is being exorbitantly and arbitrarily levied before they are allowed to conduct commercial activities in our markets in towns and villages across the state? also noted that the people of Sokoto state have equal rights to enjoy all services by the three tiers of government, right to choose any political party and they have entrusted their mandate to the APC gubernatorial candidate but a day light robbery by PDP Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal stole the golden mandate which we see as temporary as it would soon be retrieved,” Achida insisted.

    “We are strongly calling on the state government and PDP to urgently call the perpetrators of these heinous attacks to order and doing otherwise is an imminent invitation to anarchy, which would not do anybody any good. A stitch in time saves nine,” Achida cautioned.