2023: PDP accuses APC of using EFCC to hound opposition, dissenting voices

Decries Nigeria’s Worsening Misery Index
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, raised the alarm over alleged use of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to hound and harass its leaders to cow and weaken opposition ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The party, however, stated that no amount of intimidation, harassment and use of anti-graft agencies to clampdown on its leaders “on trump up corruption charges, can cow or make it to surrender or abdicate the mandate already given to it by Nigerians to lead in the effort to rescue the nation, come 2023.

In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP claimed that APC has been rejected by Nigerians, having failed woefully.

The statement partly read: “Part of this heinous plot by the APC is to use the EFCC to bully, harass and hound PDP leaders, who are rallying Nigerians for the task ahead, with a view to coercing them to abdicate the mandate of the people and join the APC.

“This explains why the EFCC and other security agencies have been harassing PDP leaders, such as former Senate President Bukola Saraki, former PDP state governors, including the former governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji, former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, his Kano State counterpart, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and other key PDP leaders, on trump up charges, while their counterparts in the APC with similar allegations, as well as others who had defected to the APC are moving around freely.

“Even corrupt officials of the APC administration, who are looting our national treasury, are doing so freely, under Buhari’s watch.”

The PDP said it is aware of plots by the APC administration to use the EFCC “to further harass outspoken PDP chieftains in a bid to muzzle our party, force a one-party state and deny Nigerians a voice to challenge the APC’s and its administration.”

“If the APC had done well; if it had not devastated Nigerians and brought so much pain to the people; if the APC had managed our national resources well, instead of engaging in unbridled treasury looting, stealing over N15tr and turning our nation into poverty capital of the world; if APC had not compromised our national security and thrown our nation open to bandits, insurgents and terrorists, this plot to force people to submission wouldn’t have been necessary.

Meanwhile, at a PDP Critical Stakeholders’ Retreat organised by the Kogi PDP Renaissance Group in Abuja, yesterday, it was observed that the degree of economic distress suffered by Nigerians at any time in the country’s post independence history has become worse, since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.

Professor Jerry Gana, a PDP chieftain, while delivering a keynote address modified to reflect the substance of the theme, “Kogi PDP: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” lamented the sorry state of affairs in the country, noting that under the watchful eyes of the global community, Nigeria has sunk deeply into a legion of artificially created challenges by the ruling party.

He drew attention to the importance of Kogi State in the pre and post-colonial political development of Nigeria, and urged PDP leaders and stakeholders in the state to reclaim Kogi governance in the next election.

“The Misery Index in Nigeria is the worst in Africa. The level of indebtedness in the past few years is such that every Nigerian is now in debt. The Naira is perhaps one of the most useless currencies in Africa today. I have never seen this level of corruption as we have today. In fact, the level of corruption makes the PDP governments look like angels because corruption is now a thousand times worse,” he said.

Against the backdrop of recent call by Governor Aminu Masari that people of Katsina should consider arming themselves to ward off frequent attacks by bandits, Gana queried: “Governor Masari was advocating recently that everyone in Katsina State should get a gun. Do you know where Katsina is? Do you know who comes from Katsina?”