From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of betraying the legacy of the late Moshood Abiola and turning Nigeria into a “personal estate” for a select few in power.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, also accused the APC of manipulating institutions of democracy and weaponising poverty, aimed at imposing “defeatist mentality on the people.”
The opposition party charged the Federal Government to respect the memory of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential poll, Chief MKO Abiola, and the sovereignty of the people, by adhering to the principle of separation of power.
“More distressing is that the APC-led Presidency has remained unaccountable while colluding with the corrupt, rubber stamp APC leadership in the National Assembly and certain compromised judicial officers at very high places to undermine the sovereignty of the people, ostensibly to clear the path for a totalitarian system in our country.
“The brazen resort to state capture as exemplified in the subversion of the Will of the people in the 2024 Edo State governorship election, the widely condemned overthrow of a democratically elected government and imposition of a sole administrator in Rivers State in blatant violation of the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution, among other Constitutional infractions, signpost a clear and present danger to our democracy.
“June 12 Democracy Day, therefore, embodies the struggle by Nigerians against an oppressive, despotic and lawless system driven by impunity, high level deception and reckless anti-people tendencies as being witnessed under the APC administration.
“It also represents the insistence by Nigerians for a system that is accountable to the people, operates on the Rule of Law and democratic principles of freedom, justice, fairness, equity, credible elections, national cohesion, transparency and accountability in government which Chief MKO Abiola personified and died for.
“These are the democratic values which Nigerians enjoyed under the Peoples Democratic Party. Painfully, all have eluded the nation since the coming of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) masquerading as a political party, the APC,” the party said.
The PDP urged the government to end alleged “intrusion in the activities of the National Assembly and other democracy institutions, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Judiciary, allow for a free press, commit to credible elections, be truthful, transparent and review all its poverty weaponising policies.”
Furthermore, the PDP urged Nigerians, institutions of democracy, civil society, development partners and all lovers of democracy to unite in speaking out against alleged stifling of democratic tenets, rule of law, free, fair, peaceful and credible electoral process.
“Our party demands that the National Assembly, the Judiciary and INEC assert their constitutional independence and operate only on the basis of the rule of law and the collective interest of the people in the promotion of the tenets of democracy.
“The PDP, however, congratulates Nigerians on this year’s Democracy Day and urges them not to allow the vicious plot of any individual or group to destroy their confidence in democracy, but remain law-abiding and continue to rally with the PDP as we reposition ahead of the 2027 elections, to rescue our nation from the stranglehold of the APC,” it stated.