President Muhammadu Buhari, the judiciary, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday came under fresh attack from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the party’s recent electoral reverses in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States.
The PDP accused the Buhari administration of politicising and compromising critical institutions, including the judiciary, DSS and INEC, for the purpose of subverting democracy in the country.
The party’s national caucus, rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday, where it reviewed the judgements of the Akwa Ibom and Rivers State Election Petition Tribunals, said the behaviour of the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) constitutes a huge threat to the nation’s democracy and danger to its peace, unity and progress.
It did not spare the National Assembly which it claimed was being intimidated by the executive arm of government.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, said the APC-led government has eroded the ‘gains’ recorded by the PDP in its 16 years in the saddle.
It vowed to “vigorously resist” the “undemocratic tendencies” it attributed to the President.
It said: “The undue interferences by the executive arm of government in the activities of the judiciary, legislature and INEC, using the Directorate of States Services (DSS), is clearly unacceptable to the PDP as well as the Nigerian people and the party resolved to vigorously resist such.
“The PDP finds it offensive and provocative the judiciary’s handling of cases involving it in election tribunals in some states, particularly Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Taraba, Ogun, Plateau and Lagos.
“The conclusive evidence of external influence on the Rivers State governorship election tribunal is the fact that it was able to deliver its judgment within 24 hours in a case that had nearly 100 witnesses, 1,000 pieces of documentary evidences and nine counsel’s final written addresses; each not less than 40 pages.
“The decision, in view of the rather interesting history of the case, indicates that the judiciary, like the PDP and the Nigerian electorate, are victims of the APC-led Federal Government.
“The tainted judgments of these tribunals, which are evidently products of arm-twisting from the nation’s security operatives under the direct command of an APC member, remains unacceptable to us”.
The PDP also alleged clandestine moves by the APC to use various agencies of government to manipulate the upcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, vowing to deploy every means within the law to resist the moves.
The APC, it claimed, is steering the country towards dictatorship and asked the judiciary to restore its image by taking immediate measures to protect itself from political interferences.
Besides, it said the Court of Appeal must remedy the “embarrassing rulings” by some election petition tribunals, particularly those of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
The PDP similarly called on President Buhari to stand up for justice and equity, and halt the undemocratic attitudes of agents of government in the interest of peace and stability.
It hailed its senators for walking out of the Red Chambers on Thursday ahead of the confirmation of former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as a ministerial nominee, saying: “We salute the courage and unity of purpose of our senators, especially as demonstrated in the Senate chambers on Thursday in their collective stand against impunity and corruption, in line with the wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people.
“The PDP states that what the APC senators did at the ministerial screening was a death knell on their party’s pretentious war against corruption.”
It wondered why “former APC governors are being rewarded with ministerial appointments” while those of PDP “are being hounded and harassed in the selective war against corruption.”
A week ago, the Rivers State Election Petitions tribunal voided the emergence of PDP’s Nyesom Wike as winner of the April governorship election on account of the petition filed by the APC candidate, Mr.Dakuku Peterside.
The tribunal said the election was characterised by fraud citing the over one million votes recorded for Wike even when the records showed that under 300000 people were accredited to vote in the election.
Wike denounced the verdict and vowed to take his case to the Court of Appeal and if necessary the Supreme Court.
A few days earlier,the Akwa Ibom Election Tribunal had cancelled the results of the governosrship election in 18 local government area of the state .
It said fresh poll should be conducted in the affected areas.
