The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has rejected the reports from the People’s Democratic Party that the APC is hounding its members to weaken them ahead of 2019 elections and pave a smooth road for President Muhammadu Buhari’s purported second term bid.
The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement issued yesterday was quoted to have stated amongst others that “The APC is obviously seeking to destroy the PDP so that it can push through Buhari’s second tenure in 2019 without opposition from the PDP.
“The federal government is persecuting, and not prosecuting, Col. Sambo Dasuki. The APC and its leaders fear that Dasuki, given his vast political and security network, may be harbouring a presidential ambition, more so that the PDP has zoned its presidential ticket to the north.”
Oyegun, in a statement yesterday, said the party would not join issues with what he called ‘childish and laughable conspiracy theories’ being bandied by the PDP in relation to the 2019 presidential elections.
Chief Odigie-Oyegun said, “Whoever the PDP picks as its candidate for the 2019 presidential election is not the business of the APC. Relevant laws in the country clearly spell out requirements for persons seeking election into all political office.
“The preoccupation of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari is to deliver on all the promises made to Nigerians by the party during the 2015 election. Looking back at the last seven months, there are clear indicators showing that the APC and the President Buhari administration is on the right track to delivering on its Change Agenda.
“The PDP speaks of a presidential directive to security agencies and judiciary to “coerce” and “convict” PDP leaders and officials of the immediate-past administration with corruption charges. Clearly such abuse of presidential directives was a concept invented and effectively deployed by the PDP during its defunct 16-year rule. The APC is a law-abiding party and cannot adopt such diabolical concept. The APC believes strongly in the rule of law, as against the kind of impunity Nigeria witnessed under the PDP for 16 years.
“We assure Nigerians that the PDP conspiracy theories will not distract the President Buhari administration, law enforcement and anti-graft agencies from the successful on-going war against corruption being waged on looters of our common wealth. The ongoing war against corruption is not selective. Anybody guilty of corrupt practices will face the law,” he said.
According to him, “The PDP has chosen to blame everyone but itself for the sorry state it finds itself. The PDP should have known that it will pay for its years of impunity, recklessness and shocking mis-management of the country’s commonwealth. PDP members who are genuinely inspired by the APC-led administration are welcome to the APC fold. It is their right to abandon a sinking ship and join one that is smooth-sailing.”