Stay In Your Party Or Quit Politics, APC Hits Back At PDP Members

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

By Niyi Adeyi – Sequel to the torrent and persistent accusations of luring its members to its party and attempting to turn Nigeria into mono party system, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and leaders still planning to cross carpet to the APC, to stay back or quit from partisan politics.

APC described the allegations as laughable and declared ”The truth of the matter is that the leadership of the PDP is not even waiting to be approached before fleeing to the APC. PDP leaders and members are falling over themselves shamelessly and swearing undying allegiance to the APC”.

The party National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a press statement issued Wednesday in Abuja in response to the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and the inaugural meeting of its Governors/Senators-elect communique held Tuesday, noted in case the party did not get the message of the President-elect and its (APC) National Chairman,

“we want to repeat it in very blunt terms: PDP leaders and members, you are not welcome in APC. Please stay in your party, but if – as we suspect – you cannot survive in opposition, then take a walk, quit politics,”

APC also reacted to the whining of the PDP concerning alleged plan by it to use the Election Petition Tribunals ‘to truncate and subvert the freely given mandate by the people in the states and constituencies’, saying it amounted to cheap blackmail.

”No amount of blackmail from the PDP will dissuade us from seeking redress in the Election Petition Tribunals, especially in states where the whole world knows there were no elections. Since we don’t believe in self-help like the PDP, we see a recourse to the Tribunal as a lawful means of giving vent to our rejection of the massive electoral malfeasance and the resort to violence in some states

”In case the PDP, beaten and battered by electoral pummeling, has forgotten, the recourse to the Tribunals to seek redress is the only lawful means of resolving electoral disputes. Anything else amounts to self-help, which is not our forte,” the opposition asserted.

On the PDP recent ‘rainbow’ of criticism against it, APC admonished the ruling party to stop being a cry baby and come to terms with the cold, hard reality that its fortunes have since plummeted and that it was now in opposition.

APC held that the fact that the PDP NWC meeting communique devoted a substantial part on complaint about alleged harassment and intimidation by it (opposition) when it should be strategizing about the daunting task ahead of it, indicated that the erstwhile ruling party still did not understand the enormity of the challenges awaiting it, as an opposition party.

The National Publicist of the party said the truth of the matter was that the PDP was scared stiff of being in opposition, adding: ”We don’t blame them as they have neither the capacity nor the commitment to be in opposition. A party that stood for nothing but looting and rent collection will naturally be afraid of being in opposition, where there is nothing to loot or rent to collect.”

Alhaji Mohammed advised the PDP to understand that it was not by repeating obvious lies that an opposition party could be effective, but by being “creative, knowledgeable, resourceful and above all credible”.

”This is why we wish to extend to the National Working Committee of the PDP a free orientation, just as we have offered the party’s spokesman a free crash course in how to be an opposition party spokesman. The theme of the orientation for the PDP NWC members will be ‘transiting from the ruling party to an opposition party’

”In the first instance, there is no substitute for experience. Also, we believe that democracy will be deepened only when there is cooperation between the governing party and the opposition, hence the offer,” the APC stressed.

It slammed the PDP for daring to complain of harassment and intimidation by the opposition, saying if any party was guilty of the offence, including impunity before, during and after the 2015 general elections, it (PDP) was culpable.

”Have they so soon forgotten the reckless show of shame by their OPC lackeys with the full support of the Nigeria Police Force in Lagos or the mindless bombings and killings of APC members in Rivers and Gombe states, among others? Only on Monday, APC supporters were again reportedly killed in Rivers and Kaduna states.

”Haven’t the folks in the PDP seen the pictures being circulated of their (PDP) supporters brandishing machetes in broad daylight during the party’s campaign in Aba on Tuesday (21April)?” it queried.