The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has raised a
rallying cry to all its members, supporters and
lovers of democracy across the country to rise
up and use all lawful means to resist what they
call, anti-democratic forces, now using the
judiciary and security agencies in their desperate
scheme to subvert the will of the people and
destroy the nation’s democracy.
The party said though it seeks peace, it is not
ready to accept the peace of a graveyard,
neither is it willing to surrender the mandate
freely given to it by the people in any part of the
country, particularly in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta,
Abia, Taraba and other states where it won in
the last general elections.
“Let it be known, and clearly too, that no matter
the strong-arming, threats and manipulations by
the APC government, the PDP is not willing to,
and will never surrender the mandate freely given
to us by the people in states where we won in
the last general elections, neither are the people
of those states willing to allow sectional invaders
to exert influence on those to be in charge of
their affairs,” the party said in a statement
signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa
Metuh, on Sunday.
The PDP said the ‘desperation’ so far exhibited
by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC
government in ‘manipulating’ sensitive agencies
of state like the judiciary and the security to
further its bid to take over the rich states of
Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Delta is totally against
the spirit of democracy and peace bestowed by
the PDP in conceding defeat at the Presidential
election, but instead, an affront to the people
and recipe for crisis in the polity.
The party maintained that the rulings by the
Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states governorship
elections tribunals, despite inherent
contradictions, were a direct fallout of
interferences from the APC and some elements
within the office of the President of the Court of
Appeal, adding that they should be held
responsible should there be any break down of
law and order in the system.
It also strongly cautioned against any
interference in the Rivers and Akwa-Ibom cases
at the appeal level as well as any further
intrusion in the Abia, Taraba and Delta
governorship election tribunals, which the APC is
already boasting of controlling. The PDP said
such would be a clear invitation to chaos in the
land.
“In the last five months, after conceding defeat
at the Presidential elections and other polls
where we lost, Nigerians are witnesses to the
fact that the PDP has remained calm and
steadfast to its commitment to providing mature,
decent and civil opposition with more interest on
the peace, unity and corporate interest of our
dear nation.
“However, the ruling party and the APC Federal
Government in their dictatorial inclinations are
much more interested in playing crude, selfish
and sectional politics and trying to use
manipulation of judicial processes to forcefully
take over states where we genuinely won in the
elections.
“Nigerians have noted APC’s definition of
credible elections wherein governorship elections
in Imo, Ogun, Plateau, Lagos and Yobe are all
credible while those of Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta,
Taraba and Abia are rigged and must by all
means be annulled.
“In the light of the foregoing therefore, leaders
of the PDP across the country are now
converging on a consensus not to surrender our
national destiny and fate to the whims and
caprices of the sectional interests of the Daura
and Bourdillon Mafia.
“We want all to know that this party is able,
willing and now ready to call up our members
and supporters to use all means within the limits
provided by the laws of the land to resist this
evil plan to decimate the PDP and opposition.
The peace we seek is not that of a graveyard, it
is such as guaranteed by a well-recognized
democratic system that treats all as equals
before the law, irrespective of partisan and
political affiliations.
“We hereby raise a rallying cry to all our
members and supporters of PDP nationwide, all
patriotic citizens and all lovers of democracy to
join the PDP in this fight to save our nation from
the hands of the lying, deceitful and false
prophets, who are bent on parading themselves
as cruel conquerors of our democracy.
“Furthermore, we request the international
community to note that never in the history of
our democracy has the nation witnessed such a
divisive and anti-people government, whose
actions have so polarized the polity, and
undermined national unity and cohesion, a
development that spells doom for our
democracy, if not checked.
“We are therefore duty bound to counsel
President Muhammadu Buhari to be cautious of
tendencies that provide avenues for the
destruction of the nation’s democracy, which he
is a huge beneficiary of.
“In the same vein, we call on the Chief Justice
of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed to note
the looming danger and save the nation’s
democracy and the institution of the judiciary by
immediately checking negative actions
emanating from elements operating within the
office of the President of the Court of Appeal.
“Finally, it has become necessary to remind all
that this democracy was built on the principle of
the rule of law and no political party, individual
or group must be allowed to, by any means,
appropriate or attempt to appropriate the will of
the people at any time and under any guise.