Television Nigerian

The Federal Capital Territory Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that there are plots by the All Progressives Congress to disrupt the council elections in the city.
The opposition party alleged that the APC had planned to make use of fake security agents to arrest some of its members ahead of the local government elections scheduled for February 12.

This was contained in a statement by chairman of the PDP in the area, Sunday D. Zaka.
The party also accused the APC of planning to mobilise thugs from Nasarawa Toto, Gadabuike and other neighbouring towns of Kogi and Niger states ahead of the elections with the aim to disrupt the area council elections.
The party called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the international community to prevail on APC and call the party to order.
The statement reads, “It has become necessary that we call this urgent meeting. Our aim is to support the system by what we are doing right now and also deepen the shores of democracy in our nation.
“However, in the build up to next Saturday the 12th February, 2022 local government elections in the FCT, our intelligence network have reported some appalling findings and we have deemed it fit as a law abiding and democratic party to notify the general public and as well as the international community concerning the elections.
“There is an underground plan to use fake security agents to arrest and detain prominent members and stakeholder of our party ahead of the February 12 elections.
“We are not taking this likely because the same scheme was deployed in the last 2019 election but failed due to the display of professionalism by the heads of security operatives in the FCT and now this same satanic plan by the opposition is resurfacing, but we believe strongly it will fail again.”
The party called on all security formations in the FCT and those that would be deployed for the purpose of the election not to allow the desperation and gimmicks of APC ruin the relative peace and security in the FCT.
“It baffles us as a party that the national ruing All Progressives Congress has drafted a list of governors from states across Nigeria for an ordinary local government elections that is meant for the grassroots citizens and we are asking what motive could be behind the APC importing some of these governors with questionable character and knowledge of electoral violence to supervise the FCT Area Council election.
“In as much as we have confidence in the electoral umpire under the leadership of Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, we are concerned that the importation of questionable character by APC could have sinister motive against the elections. meaning the APC party is out to cause intimidation of voters.

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“We want to say the essence of elections is to allow the will of the people prevail against all odds. Let anybody who has interest in leading the people seize the ballot opportunity and lead the people and not result in clandestine strategies in an attempt to subvert a democratic process.
“But because we know the APC has lost touch with the people at the grassroots and would be rejected at the poll hence their desperate plot to deploy the measures of subverting the process and win at all cost but the people of the FCT are resolute to come out in their numbers to vote for PDP and defend their votes,” the statement added.

Former members of the All Progressive Congress’s House of Representatives have criticized the party’s lack of internal democracy as a major threat to the party’s success.

The forum urged delegates to the next national convention to nominate only renowned, reliable, and trusted party leaders to the National Working Committee (NWC) in order to propel the party to victory in the general elections in 2023.

In a communique issued at the end of a meeting in Abuja, Ibrahim Zailani, the forum’s Protem Chairman, exhorted the ruling party’s highest echelon to uphold all democratic fundamentals in the national interest.

Zailani said, “It is in the progressive interest of the party to ensure that internal democracy reigns supreme.”

The meeting reviewed the current state of the APC and called on the Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee to ensure that internal democracy is sustained in the party.

Mai Mala Buni, the governor of Yobe State and the chairman of the APC’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, has met with key members of the ruling party in Kano State to discuss long-term solutions to the party’s lingering crisis.

Governor Umar Ganduje, the three state senators, Ibrahim Shekarau, Jibrin Barau, and Kabir Gaya were all present at the meeting, which was presided over by Buni.

Members of the House of Representatives and other stakeholders were also in attendance, according to Buni’s spokesman Mamman Mohammed in a statement released on Saturday.

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The statement said the stakeholders had recently met twice except Governor Ganduje who was attending the meeting for the first time.

Governor Buni was joined by Governor of Zamfara state Bello Matawalle and Yakubu Dogara to broker peace between the Ganduje and Shekarau factions.

The stakeholders expressed satisfaction with the issues deliberated upon and pledged to resolve their differences to move the party forward.

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Political analysts are of the view that the reconciliation move is the right step in the right direction as the ruling party cannot afford to lose Kano State in the 2023 general elections due to its strategic importance in the political landscape of the country.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has expressed its displeasure with the state’s recent spate of political violence.

This comes after the party accused the state governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, of turning the once-peaceful state into a hotbed of insecurity marked by violent attacks in which gunshots are fired indiscriminately.

The party warned the state governor, in a press release signed by Ayodeji Areola, the PDP Publicity Secretary in Osun, not to turn the state into a free-for-all zone for terrorism and political brigandage.

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The party said the reports of shootings, planned attacks and intimidation against opposition figures and their supporters throughout the state raised serious doubts about the commitment of the ruling APC to a safe, fair pre-election environment and a democratic election process.

It wondered why the Oyetola administration could go so low to the point of shooting members of his own party on the grounds of political gains.

The party said such actions underscored the growing frustration of an unpopular candidate who was foisted on the state through a widely flawed election.

The party said, “Resorting to violence in the face of growing rejection of Mr Oyetola and his administration is unacceptable and whoever is advising him on the self-help of violence to keep afloat his dilapidated hope is undoubtedly an enemy of Osun State.

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“Adding bloody violence to the failings of the APC administration in the state is unthinkable and a further proof that the party’s mission in Osun is nothing short of merchants of death prowling around as democrats.

“The All Progressives Congress must not allow their unabating frustration blind them into enveloping the state with political violence, as such can only continue to dissuade domestic and foreign investment in our already ruptured economy, trigger government loss of revenue and resources, and results in the election of heartless representatives like Mr Oyetola to the detriment of the state’s economic and social progress.”

While noting that a responsible government bears primary responsibility for creating an environment that protects individuals’ rights and ensures a free, fair, competitive election that voters can have confidence in, the Osun PDP alleged that the Oyetola administration had failed woefully.

It called on the government to redouble its efforts to ensure that political leaders in Osun State and their supporters can exercise their democratic rights of free speech and assembly as enabled by the nation’s constitution.

The PDP also requested the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to take proactive steps to hold accountable the gun trotting urchins and their sponsors who now have the boldness to carry out shootings in broad daylight without fear of consequences.

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“All active players in our political field in Osun State have a civic duty to promote a peaceful atmosphere in which citizens can discuss the issues, express their preferences and choose their lanes free from the threat of violence and intimidation.

“It is therefore incumbent on all and sundry to resist intimidation under whatever guise, equip ourselves with voter cards and shape up to vote out elements who are bent on derailing the peace of the state,” the statement concluded”.