PDP alleges fresh plot to remove Saraki

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alerted of a fresh plot to, according to the party, use the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to forcefully remove the President of the Senate and Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO), Senator Bukola Saraki, from office as the Senate President.

It has also condemned in totality, “the continued clampdown, harassment, intimidation, arrest and detention” of members of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration.

According to a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, it National Publicity Secretary, in Abuja, the  plot, against Saraki, “which is akin to the last invasion of the National Assembly by anti-democratic forces, is to scuttle the success being recorded by the PDP Presidential campaign organisation in its consultations and winning campaigns across the nation ahead of the 2019 general election.”

The PDP said that it is privy to clandestine meetings by the Buhari Presidency and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which it observed, has not been able to constitute a Presidential campaign organisation, but keen to derail the PDP Presidential campaign by going against Senator Saraki.

                                   ALSO READ: I didn’t collect money from NNPC for Buhari’s campaign ― Keyamo

The statement added: “Part of the plot is to use the police and the DSS to fabricate spurious charges against Senator Saraki, distract him and destabilize the PDP Presidential campaign, a scheme the PDP described as dead on arrival, as Nigerians are solidly behind the PDP in the mission to rescue the nation from the misrule of the APC.”

In condemning the clampdown on CSOs, the party said the development smacks of scaremongering apparently to intimidate and cow the Civil Society from criticizing the misrule of the Buhari administration.

Of particular reference, according to the PDP, is the re-arresting and continued detention of a rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, by the Police for a matter, which documents, in the public domain, show he has been discharged and acquitted by the court.

It stated: “Information available shows that the authorities have not been comfortable with Deji Adeyanju’s criticisms. However, arresting and detaining him on a matter for which there has been a conclusive judicial determination 9 years ago is in clear violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and indirect infringement of his right as a citizen under the law.

“This is more so as even the spokesperson of President Buhari’s Campaign Organisation Festus Keyamo SAN, and who was Adeyanju’s defence attorney counsel on the matter which was before the court between 2005 and 2009, has, in a media report, attested that Adeyanju was discharged and acquitted, and that the prosecution did not file any appeal because it was satisfied with the ruling.

“Nigeria is a democratic nation governed by the constitution and due process of the law. Allowing such impunity and trampling by security agencies to fester, will be a direct invitation to anarchy and chaos; and this is not the way to go.

“Our citizens are also free, within the ambit of the laws, to hold the government accountable on issues. If the government of the day is not comfortable with criticisms, the acceptable approach is to provide answers, instead of this resort to a clampdown, using a matter that has been decided by the court.”

The PDP, therefore, demanded the immediate release of Adeyanju, if the police had found nothing incriminatory to charge him to court, within 48 hours of his arrest, in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).