From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum has vowed to resist alleged attempts by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to impose a one-party state on Nigerians.
The Forum, in a statement by its Director General, CID Maduabum, on Thursday, alleged that the APC constitutes a present threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
The opposition party governors are accusing the Federal Government and the APC of deploying threats, intimidation and ‘underhanded tactics’ to ‘force’ opposition governors into the ruling party.
Zamfara Governor Bello Matawalle, who was elected on the platform of the PDP, is the latest of such defections, switching to the APC on Tuesday. Matawalle’s defection brings to three the number of opposition party governors who have defected to the APC in the last eight months.
They recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had reportedly expressed regret that ‘Zamfara State is governed by another party other than his own.’
The Forum noted that the statement was ‘a clear subtle threat to the governor of the state to join him or face consequences.
‘Earlier, all sorts of threats had been deployed by the … APC Caretaker /National Convention Planning Committee whose only job seem to be to just lure PDP Governors and other PDP Stakeholders abandoning in the process their mandate of organising a National Convention.’
The opposition governors noted that ‘if Mr President or APC can spend 10 per cent of the energy they use in wooing PDP governors and stalwarts in tackling insecurity, building infrastructure and the wellbeing of Nigerians, the country would have been better.’
The Forum, however, expressed optimism that ‘if Nigerians are allowed to express their political preferences through a free and fair election, APC will be roundly rejected.’