The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said Monday that there was a plot by the federal government to foist a one-party system on Nigerians.
To achieve this, the party said government has hatched a plot to humiliate and intimidate its members, including Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy President of the Senate, and some governors elected on its platform.
The party stated this through Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary, addressed a press conference at the Wadata Plaza, Abuja.
The publicity scribe said the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government was leading the onslaught against some highly-placed PDP members, using state power to achieve its aim.
“You are aware of the numerous exposed plots by the APC and its federal government to frame up and humiliate the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as well as PDP governors, particularly, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and his Ekiti State counterpart, Governor Ayo Fayose.
“There is an orchestrated plan by the ruling APC-led federal government to use the state apparatus of power to coerce, emasculate and effectively decapitate opposition and other dissenting voices, foist a one-party state and push a self-succession bid for President Muhammadu Buhari, seeing that their chances of winning the presidential election gets slimmer by the day,” he said.
The party also said it has uncovered plans by the APC to silence its Presidential aspirants ahead of the 2019 polls, even as it alleged that meetings between some judicial officers and “agents” of the ruling party have held to facilitate the conviction of its members currently undergoing trials in courts of the land.
“The APC has fully commenced a major onslaught on leaders and key voices in the PDP, particularly our state governors, opposition leaders in the National Assembly as well as our presidential hopefuls.
“In the same vein, we are in the know of plots to embarrass credible individuals, particularly in the PDP, known or perceived to be interested in contesting the 2019 Presidential election, having realized that their party, the APC, is finally stuck with a very unpopular and rejected Presidential candidate, who can no longer command the support of Nigerians.
“This is in addition to advanced plots by the federal government to clampdown on key leaders of the party and begin to drop in public places alleged confessional statements made under duress in the desperate attempt to achieve a pre-determined end of validating the bandying of corruption allegations against members of the PDP.
“We have also been made aware of a special presidential committee put up by the APC federal government to persecute our leaders. Already, no fewer than 28 cases have been filed based on trumped up charges.
”Also we are privy to series of clandestine meetings between agents of the APC and some compromised judicial officers to get conviction at all cost,” he added.
While insisting the PDP is supportive of the fight against corruption, Ologbondiyan questioned the credibility of the model used by incumbent administration in waging the war thus far.
“We are not opposed to the fight against corruption, which, of course, was started by our party, through the establishment of credible anti-corruption institutions.
“We however demand that prosecutions must be done in a credible, transparent, legitimate and constitutional manner.
“We will not allow the persecution of our members under the guise of the fight against corruption.
“The PDP will no longer allow anybody to tarnish any of our elected and appointed officials, particularly our state governors and leaders in the National Assembly and members of our Working Committees at the national, zonal, state and even at the grassroots levels and will do all within our laws to protect them,” the party vowed.
When contacted, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adeshina, referred Vanguard to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
Efforts, however, to reach the Minister proved abortive as his mobile numbers were unreachable.
