The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has told the international community that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are working to truncate the country’s democracy.
Secondus said though the PDP for 16 years nurtured the nation’s democracy, indicators on the ground showed that the APC and INEC were not preparing to conduct free and fair elections in 2019.
He said this on Thursday while playing host to a team of the European Union led by Ketil Karlsen.
He said the opposition PDP was concerned at the emerging signs showing that 2019 election might be rigged.
He said, “What we see is marshal system of framing-up opposition leaders and trying to intimidate them. They are not ready to observe the rule of law and there is no democracy without the rule of law.
“We conducted election in 2015, the party and the presidential candidate did not go to court, we had a smooth transition because we believe in the rule of law
“Nigeria, as the largest black nation on the globe, cannot afford crisis because of the huge effect it would have on the continent and the entire global democratic community if democracy is truncated.”
He appealed to the EU and other international partners to keep a watch on Nigeria ahead 2019 and put pressure on the ruling APC government and INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
According to him, the EU team could not have visited at a better time than when President Muhammadu Buhari had just indicated interest to contest for a second term in office.
He said the PDP was positioning itself through a rebranding project targeted at the youths and children, just as it was mobilising its members and other Nigerians ahead of the 1999 elections.
But the APC denied the allegation by the PDP, saying the leaders of the former ruling party should have nothing to fear if they have no skeleton in their cupboard.
