The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that Nigerians would not be swayed by the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s resort to “blackmail, twisting of facts and fabrications” to absolve itself of culpability in the impasse at the National Assembly.
The party made this known in a Friday statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.
Recall that masked and heavily-armed operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) invaded the National Assembly Complex penultimate Tuesday and prevented opposition lawmakers from accessing the complex for several hours.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, who vehemently condemned the DSS’s action, immediately ordered the sacking of Director General of DSS, Lawal Daura.
But since the incident, claims and counterclaims from the ruling and opposition parties have continued over the sponsor of the blockade.
In the Friday statement, PDP said, “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 and 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.
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“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.”