2023: No plan to instigate violence, rig elections, says APC

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2 years ago

The governing All Progressives Congress has maintained that it has no plan to instigate violence to frustrate the conduct of the next general elections or rig the process.

Barrister Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary, made the declaration on Thursday in a statement.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday at his party national secretariat in Abuja, the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, Debo Ologunagba alleged that the APC was plotting to instigate violence to make the conduct of the next general elections impracticable.

The PDP spokesperson also alleged that the ruling party was behind recent arson attacks on the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission in order to frustrate the ongoing collection of Permanent Voters Cards by prospective voters.

Morka in his reaction said one of the legacies President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to bequeath to Nigerians is to lay the foundation for the conduct of credible elections.

Morka further argued that the APC presidential candidate who has been trans-versing the length and breadth of the country, talking to the electorate nursed no intention to rig the elections.

The statement read in part: “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to outdo its own record of disgraceful display of despicable desperation and despondency in the conduct of its public affairs. Utterly discombobulated by prospects of impending annihilation at the polls, the PDP has dived deeper into its murky cesspool of confusion, calumny and unmitigated irrationality.

Barely Sixty-Five days to the 2023 Presidential Election, the PDP remains preoccupied with spewing gibberish and falsehoods as a choice electoral strategy at a time when serious political parties are digging deep, canvassing votes and building viable electoral networks. Afflicted by its infamy, the PDP’s latest incoherent press conference built entirely on malicious lies and unimaginative conjecture only certifies the party’s irredeemable descent into the dark abyss of inglorious political history.

“At a recent press conference, the PDP, alleged that our great party was plotting to scuttle the 2023 general election by sponsoring attacks on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) facilities, allegedly, to prevent new registrants from collecting their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs); destroy PVCs to forestall collection by potential voters; destroy INEC’s equipment and cripple its capacity to conduct elections; and create tension across the country to “validate a narrative that elections cannot hold, then orchestrate a constitutional crisis with a view to justifying a shift of the elections and perpetuate certain APC elements in office beyond May 29, 2023.” And the only basis for these dumb allegations is what decrepit PDP calls “intelligence available to our Party”.

“As a responsible ruling Party that we are, the All Progressives Congress (APC) abhors all forms of violence and electoral malpractices. We stand united with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its effort to conduct a free, transparent and fair election next year. We have and continue to, unequivocally, condemn attacks on INEC’s facilities and staff, and urge our security agencies to protect these important facilities and to bring perpetrators of these acts to justice.

“Violent attacks against INEC facilities and staff are very serious matters of national concern and security and have the potential to destabilize our set electoral program on which the viability and sustainability of our nascent democracy depends. It is not a flimsy matter that anyone or political party should appropriate as material for a morbid comedy skit as the PDP chooses to do and has done quite consistently during this electoral season.

A responsible political actor or party that has any credible and actionable intelligence on matters as serious as plots to destabilize our national elections would turn that information or “intelligence” over to our many law enforcement agencies for a full and thorough investigation and possible arrest and prosecution of perpetrators.

It is crassly irresponsible for the PDP and its officials to drown the airwaves and news wires with a dubious and immature cacophony of falsehoods, phantom plots and conspiracy theories. Without a doubt, the PDP’s false alarm and baseless allegations against our great party only belie their twisted wish that next year’s election is averted as a face-saving exit strategy for what they already know would turn out to be a well-rounded electoral interment of their decadent and expired party.

“PDP’s vain attempt to associate our respected and respectable Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to their imagined plot to disrupt our elections is beyond the pale.

PDP has always been intimidated by the towering popularity of our Presidential Candidate who is tirelessly traversing the length and breadth of our country justifying his bid for the highest office in the land and renewing hope of a more vibrant future for all Nigerians.

It is clearly illogical and infantile to suggest, as the PDP attempts to do, that the undisputed front-runner and preferred Candidate to win next year’s Presidential Election, bolstered by the profound accomplishments of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, would engage in acts or plots to scuttle an election he is eminently confident of winning. Nigerians are smarter and more discerning than the PDP believes them to be.

“It bears mentioning for the umpteenth time that one of many legacies APC is bequeathing to Nigeria, is an independent and credible electoral system. The new Electoral Act, the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS); the conduct of credible off-season elections in Anambra, Osun and Ekiti; adequate funding of INEC and improved capability of the security forces remain pointers to this unassailable fact.

“While the PDP keeps busy milling falsehood and propaganda as preferred electoral strategy, we choose to remain undistracted, resolute and focused on serving Nigerians and soliciting their valued support ahead of the 2023 general elections.”

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