The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign of an alleged plot to create tension and derail the forthcoming general elections.
The party alleged that it has been made aware of the plot by All Progressives Congress lawmakers to reconvene the National Assembly under the guise of addressing issues of national importance in order to use incendiary remarks to further heat up the polity in order to derail the polls.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba said this in a statement he issued in Abuja, on Wednesday.
He said the latest plot is one out of a series of orchestrated plots by the APC Presidential Campaign to derail the 2023 general elections and put our democracy in jeopardy.
Ologunagba said, “The PDP informs of the moves by the Tinubu Presidential Campaign to allegedly use certain compromised All Progressives Congress (APC) members in both Senate and House of Representatives to create tension in the polity and derail the conduct of the elections.
“There is credible intelligence of how the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu allegedly directed his cronies in the APC leadership of both Houses of the National Assembly to reconvene Plenary and use the Legislative Chambers as platforms to promote incendiary speeches with the view to overheating the polity and making it appear unconducive to conduct elections in the country.
“This is in furtherance of the alleged scheme by the APC Presidential Campaign to use all means including APC leadership of the National Assembly to orchestrate security situations that will justify its reported demands to postpone elections as a prelude to the derailment of the electoral process, having realized that it has no chance in the elections.”
He further said, “Our Party has been made aware of a deceptive design by the APC leadership in both Chambers of the National Assembly to reconvene Plenary under the guise of being concerned about the hardship faced by Nigerians due to the scarcity of new Naira notes induced and aggravated by the exposed sinister diversion of new Naira notes by the Tinubu Campaign.
“Further information indicates that the Tinubu Presidential Campaign, which is reportedly intercepting new Naira notes for vote buying purposes, has also directed the APC leadership in the National Assembly to use their Legislative instruments to pressure and compromise financial institutions to succumb to their cash diversion agenda.
“Nigerians can now note the real motive behind the recent statement credited to the APC leadership of the National Assembly where it attempted to justify its plan to reconvene the National Assembly at this time.“
The main opposition party noted that If indeed the APC leadership of both Chambers of the National Assembly are concerned about the biting cash scarcity, they should publicly condemn the reported plot by APC leaders and its Presidential Campaign, to clandestinely swap a whopping N22.5 billion in old N1000 notes for new ones in Kano and Lagos States for the purpose of vote buying.
The PDP also challenged the APC leadership of the National Assembly to commence an investigation into the N22.5 billion fraudulent cash swap report if truly it is concerned about the suffering and anguish Nigerians are facing in accessing the new Naira notes.
Ologunagba further said, “It is instructive to note that the Tinubu Campaign has not denied the reported criminal N22.5 billion cash swap for vote buying. Instead, it has resorted to hauling of insults and lame diversionary claims.
“The PDP advises the APC Presidential Candidate to end his resort to underhand dealings, particularly this attempt to compromise the National Assembly. He should quit the race since he has nothing to offer, instead of seeking to truncate our electoral process.
“In any case, Nigerians have since made up their minds to votes enmasse for the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who genuinely stands with the people and embodies the collective hope and aspiration of Nigerians in the mission to rescue our nation from the misrule of the deceptive, insensitive, corrupt and rudderless APC.”
