Search This Blog

Tuesday, 20 February 2018

Issues of Urgent National Importance.


Gentlemen of the press,

We have invited you today to address very critical issues of urgent national importance and to once again alert Nigerians of the heinous plot being hatched by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled Federal Government to further beguile the people and perpetrate more harm on our dear nation.

1. INEC

As you are aware, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been indicted for registering and issuing permanent voters card (PVCs) to millions of underage persons, particularly in Kano and Katsina states respectively.

You are also aware that it took a press statement from the PDP and concerted outcry by Nigerians before the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led commission reluctantly accepted responsibility for this illegality.  However, INEC has refused to take decisive steps to restore the sanctity of its register, particularly in Kano and Katsina states, but has rather made a puerile explanation of plans to investigate the allegation.

As we speak, the credibility of our electoral process under the current INEC is hugely in doubt. The nation was last Wednesday terrified by the commission’s Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, who announced that INEC registered minors because its agents were threatened by members of the communities in those states.

By this alarming and unpatriotic statement, INEC under Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has completely discredited and disqualified itself and cannot be trusted to conduct a credible, free and fair general elections in 2019.

The import of this statement is that INEC under Prof. Yakubu is not firm in its acts and will consequently cave in and accept any form of irregularities once it is put under pressure by members of a voting community. It goes to say that this INEC can readily announce false results, cancel elections, alter polling procedures and allow any irregularities during the 2019 general elections once it is threatened by the All Progressives Congress (APC) or any other group for that matter.

If INEC is afraid of a voting community so much so that after registering minors, it still went ahead to process their data and issue them with valid voters card, then there is no way it can withstand the pressure and threat that we all know will be exerted by desperate APC forces, whose electoral strength, particularly in Kano and Katsina states, is now exposed to be based on underage voters.

Consequently, the PDP demands an immediate review of voters register, particularly in Kano and Katsina; we demand a revalidating the voters register to eliminate all the minors and insist that no election must hold in these states until the register is sanitized.

In order to achieve this, we demand that the revalidation/sanitization by INEC must be carried out under the supervision of all political parties, credible associations, reputable NGOs as well as the international community.

Also, the plan by INEC to ask EFCC to help them monitor campaign funds is clearly an illegal and Machiavellian way of suppressing opposition’s financial contribution and spending.  It is a plot to detain, defame, intimidate and illegally block bank accounts of opposition members under the pretext that they have been mandated by INEC to monitor campaign funds.

It is trite law that ‘delegatus non potest delegare’. INEC and only INEC has the statutory duty to monitor campaign funds. The commission cannot delegate this function to any other government agency.

Nigerians have completely lost confidence in INEC under Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and we urge him to take the path of honour and do the needful before it becomes too late.

2. Manipulation of Performance Indices

In the same vein, we want to alert Nigerians and the international community of a heinous design now hatched by the desperate APC-controlled Federal Government to delude Nigerians on the true state of affairs of our nation, particularly on security and the comatose economy.

We have information that forces at the Presidency and the leadership of the APC, having failed to record any meaningful achievement in their three years of failed governance, and having realized that they have nothing on which to anchor their ill-lucked 2019 re-election bid, have mobilized their agents to commence the falsification of economic and development indices across all sectors, with a view to create a false sense of performance.

We are also privy to clandestine meetings and the engagement of certain unscrupulous Nigerians and foreign profiling firms, who have been heavily paid to fabricate, dish out and saturate our polity with fake performance indices and contrived polls in favour of the failed and incompetent Buhari-led Federal Government.

This face-saving stunt is being coordinated by a member of the cabal in the Presidency, alongside two prominent cabinet ministers and a top member of the APC.

As we speak, agents have infiltrated federal ministries and agencies with a view to inject fake performance figures, while the cabal is mounting pressure on statistics based organizations to manipulate performance indices in favour of the failed Presidency

In line with their design, in the next couple of months, the news media and the entire polity would be inundated with cooked-up indices, which will be well spiced up and heavily publicized to give unsuspecting Nigerians a false sense of hope and set the table for another round of electoral propaganda.

Part of this plot is to falsify figures to suggest sudden economic rebound, with false and unverifiable statistics in critical sectors, particularly, agriculture, youth empowerment, health, social safety nets, security among others to hoodwink the people.

There will also be frantic effort to lay claim on projects initiated and executed by the PDP; multiple commissioning of same projects like the railway project and the unmanned drone project in Kaduna state; awards of bogus contracts and procurement of international endorsements.

Our take is that this resort to falsehood has clearly shown the depravity of the APC in the face of its failure. Such a trip is practically of no moment as Nigerians are now better informed and cannot be swayed by imported indices and fabricated statistics.

We however wish to use this opportunity to alert the media, all Nigerians and the international community to, in the interest of our people, crosscheck all figures and indices coming from the Presidency, the APC and uncertified profiling agencies, who are being used by the Federal Government in this new attempt to deceive.

3. Government Impunity

We also want to inform Nigerians of the intolerance trend adopted by APC and its government in some states that are now demolishing property belonging to opposition members and perceived opponents of their 2019 re-election bid.

This morning, Kaduna state governor Nasir el-Rufai was reported to have detailed bulldozers and armored tanks to demolish a property belonging to Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi perceived to be against his 2019 re-election bid.

In Adamawa, the state government has pulled down billboards and signposts belonging to opposition parties while harassing our members and perceived political opponents ahead of President Buhari state visit.

In January this year, Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima superintended over the demolition of PDP state secretariat in Maiduguri following the renewed popularity of our party in the state.

In Kogi, a property belonging to Senator Dino Melaye, who is known for his criticism of the APC derailed government, has been marked for demolition.

Today, despite our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and speech, Nigerians now live in fear of this intolerant, overbearing, bigoted and dictatorial APC administration seeking to foist a fascist regime on our country.

How do we explain or justify the evil plan of APC-led Federal Government to monitor citizens’ phone calls and social media communication purportedly to check for hate speeches without any enabling law. We advice the APC government to desist from this planned unconstitutionality, which threatens the very essence of democracy especially plurality of opinions.

It is on this note that the PDP raises a rallying cry to all well-meaning Nigerians, civil society organizations and the international community to rise up and collectively condemn the anti-people actions and proclivities of this incompetent and imperious government, which has brought so much pain to our dear nation.

Thank you.

Kola Ologbondiyan

National Publicity Secretary

at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Follow us

GOVERNOR WIKE TO AMAECHI: RIVERS PEOPLE VOTED FOR ME BECAUSE OF MY OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE.. Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that Rivers people overwhelmingly voted for him during the 2019 Governorship Election because of his outstanding performance and projects delivery. In a response to false allegations made by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi during his appearance on Channels Television Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Governor Wike said that the Former Rivers State Governor failed in his quest to truncate his second term because Rivers people are happy with his work. He said he wouldn't have responded to the falsehood being peddled by the Minister of Transportation, but he owes the public the duty to set the record straight. He said: "It is unfortunate. I extended the Olive Branch and I meant every word of it. It was on that basis that the State Attorney General filed a nolle prosequi to withdraw the charge against Flag Amachree. "If I did not do well in my first term, PDP wouldn't have given me the party's flag to fly. In 2015, the same man vowed that over his dead body would I emerge victorious. "I have done well for my people . It is for the people of Rivers State to decide. It is not the in the place of Amaechi to decide. "We have over 6million people and over 3million registered voters. Therefore, Amaechi cannot say I cannot go for a second term. He has only one vote. "In the past, he said an Ikwerre man cannot succeed another Ikwerre man. Today, he is saying his grouse is that I cannot go for a second term. At every step, he has one story or the other". Governor Wike said contrary to the story that Amaechi peddled whilst he was on Channels Television, kidnapping raged during his tenure. He said it was so bad that the State Chairman of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission under Amaechi was kidnapped. The Governor noted that despite the National High-Rate of insecurity, Rivers State is relatively peaceful, with very high ratings. "Our internally Generated Revenue has improved due to the peace and security of the state". Governor Wike said that the political misfortune that befell the APC during the last general elections in Rivers State was principally due to the impunity of Amaechi . He said: "It is because of this impunity that his party was not on the ballot. Because of this impunity he has denied so many people their political future ". He said that the plots by Amaechi to manipulate the Tribunal will fail like other previous plots. The Governor noted that Amaechi's boast that he appointed the members of the tribunal and they would work for him remains one of his empty boasts. Governor Wike said that Amaechi's plot to use the police to illegally certify fake results as he did for Rivers East Senatorial District during the rerun elections tribunal would fail. "The game he played in Rivers East of using the police to certify fake results will not work. During the rerun Police certified fake results. That game will not work again. We have gone beyond that . We are waiting for the police to certify fake results for Amaechi ". He stated that there was no way that the defeated AAC Governorship Candidate, Engr Awara would have been coasting to victory when he neither campaigned or printed posters. He said: "Awara ran for the PDP councillorship in 2018 and lost. For this election, he did not Campaign and never printed posters. "Look at that kind of impunity. He brought a man that the people of Rivers State never knew three days to the election. "The AAC had no House of Assembly Candidates, they had no House of Representatives Candidates and No Senate Candidates for the elections. There is no way that such a party would have been coasting to victory ". He added that the AAC Governorship Candidate couldn't have been coasting to victory and still approach the Federal High Court for the cancellation of the Governorship Election Results. On the allegation that the INEC Chairman , Professor Mahmood Yakubu influenced the suspension of the Collation process because he worked under him at the Federal Ministry of Education, the Rivers State Governor said that the position of Amaechi was baseless. He said that at the Ministry of Education, he superintended basic Education, while the INEC Chairman served as TETFUND Executive Secretary under the Minister of Education. He said that the INEC Chairman was appointed by the APC Federal Government and since his appointment, there has been no links Governor Wike said despite the evil machinations of the Minister of Transportation, he was unable to deliver 25 percent of votes for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019 "In 2015, as a sitting Governor, he failed to deliver 25percent of votes for President Buhari. He claimed that Jonathan helped us. In 2019, with all the security agencies, he still couldn't deliver 25percent for President Buhari. "He sang war songs, but couldn't deliver 25 percent of votes for the President ", he said. On the incident at Obio/Akpor LGA Secretariat, Governor Wike said that the GOC of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarhem sent soldiers to invade the Collation Centre and cart away results . "I went there to stop the Army from carting away results from my Local Government Area ", he said. Governor Wike said that the illegal activities of the Nigerian Army all through the Governorship Election were well documented by the media and the International community. He said that the videos of the Army invading the Rivers State Governorship Election Collation Centre has since gone viral. He said that even the Rivers State Commander of F-SARs has since written him a congratulatory letter on his well deserved victory. He said that his Administration continues to fund all security agencies in the state, including providing needed logistics. He said that the Israelis that Amaechi introduced were only used to siphon State resources . He wondered why Amaechi finds Pleasure in de-marketing Rivers State, when the State made him Speaker, Governor and Minister of the Federal Republic. Governor Wike said after four years as a Minister, Amaechi cannot boast of attracting a single project to Rivers State. He noted that as Minister of State for Education, he attracted several projects to the state. He denied attempting to bribe the GOC, saying that he has never met him at any point. He said by Amaechi's logic, it means that the Minister bribed the GOC 6 Division to subvert the Electoral Process. Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Electronic Media. 7th May, 2019.

Recent Posts