By Ishaya Ibrahim
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday took a potshot at the All Progressives Party (APC), advising the ruling party to leave Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, out of its woes.
The opposition party said its attention had been drawn to what it described as “yet another pitiable and disgraceful press statement by the discomfited
All Progressives Congress (APC) wherein it once again resorted to
fabrications, insults and attempts to invent allegations against the
peoples’ candidate, Atiku Abubakar.”
In the wake of the #RevolutionNow protest, championed by the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, APC had accused Atiku as one of the brains behind the movement.
In a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Lanre Isa-Onilu, the governing party stated inter alia, “Predictably, some desperate individuals, sore losers, and their sympathisers are acting in vain trying to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.
“Of course, the disgruntled presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alh. Atiku Abubakar is expectedly the patron and cheerleader of the unpatriotic elements who would rather bring our country down for being rejected at the polls”.
But PDP said the allegation was despicable.
In a counter statement of Friday, the opposition party said: “Our party, for the umpteenth time, urges the Buhari Presidency and the
APC to leave Atiku Abubakar alone and face their self-inflicted
resentment from Nigerians by answering for their misrule for which
compatriots have now become agitated on all fronts.”
The PDP said it was despicable that the “Buhari Presidency and the APC
have not yet realized that Nigerians are aware that since their defence
fell apart at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, they have
become nervous and desperate to invent any means to frame and drag down Atiku Abubakar; a plot that has already failed.”
The statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, the national publicity secretary, further said:
“It is indeed not surprising that the APC, in its desperation, is now
playing opposition, which is a role fitting of it, being that it does
not have the mandate of the people; the very reason it cannot command
the respect, loyalty and support of the citizens in the midst of its
misrule.
“The PDP maintains that Atiku Abubakar, as a leader of choice, has never
faltered in displaying the highest sense of patriotism, restrain and
decorum in his positions on national issues and, standing with
overwhelming majority of Nigerians, cannot be intimidated or distracted
from pursing the retrieval of his stolen Presidential mandate at the
tribunal.
“Instead of fixating on Atiku, the APC should help the Commander-in-Chief
to provide answers for escalated insecurity in our country under his
watch; with insurgents, marauders, bandits and kidnappers holding our
nation hostage and turning her into a killing field and large funeral
palour in the last four years.
“Furthermore, the APC should rather be helping President Buhari to answer Nigerians on how his administration wrecked our once robust economy, entrenched corruption, frittered trillions of naira, turned our nation into world poverty capital and foisted joblessness, acute hunger and
starvation; human right abuses and downright impunity, which have
spurred resentment to the extent that Nigerians are now desperate to
take their destinies in the hands with many resorting to suicide and
slavery missions abroad.
“Moreover, the APC should look inwards, do some soul searching and face
the miseries it sired instead of seeking for a scapegoat where there is
none.
Let it therefore be known to the APC and the Buhari Presidency that the
PDP and Nigerians stand with Atiku Abubakar in the collective national
determination to retrieve our stolen presidential mandate at the court
and we are confident that justice for the people will prevail at the end
of the day.”
