Presidency slam ‘irresponsible’ Atiku, PDP over Tinubu’s alleged one-party state plan

The Presidency has condemned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for claiming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu plans to use the judiciary to make Nigeria a one-party state.

Atiku, in a statement on Monday by Paul Ibe, his media adviser, said just like in Lagos when Tinubu was governor, the president is now deploying a series of tactics to undermine the opposition and turn the country into a one-party state.

He accused the judiciary of turning itself into a willing tool in the hands of the ruling party, alleging that the third arm of government has become “cash and carry”.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu’s spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in a statement said Atiku and PDP has assaulted the judiciary’s integrity and made wild and libellous allegations against the president.

“The PDP and former Vice President and his spokesman have become overtly desperate to hang their woes on President Tinubu and the judiciary, an important arm of government in Nigeria,” Onanuga stated.

Onanuga noted that, in blaming others, Atiku and PDP failed to demonstrate whether they had done any soul-searching before going public with their allegations.

Onanuga refuting one of Atiku’s allegations said the president is not planning to impose a one-party state as alleged by Atiku and PDP.

These allegations, according to him, are deliberately aimed at unnecessarily heating up the polity and causing disenchantment in the country.

He added that the allegations exist only in the imagination of the PDP and the former vice-president.

Onanuga also questioned Atiku’s silence in previous instances where the judiciary ruled against the All Progressive Congress (APC) and noted the alleged electoral heist confessed by Atiku regarding the South West in 2003.

He stated; “Where were Atiku and the PDP in 2019, when on the eve of the swearing-in of Bayelsa governor-elect, David Lyon, the Supreme Court handed the victory of the APC to the candidate of the PDP, Governor Diri who was earlier rejected at the poll by the people of Bayelsa?

“Atiku and PDP then savoured all these court-handed trophies as sweet victories for PDP and celebrated the courts as protectors of democracy,

“Now that the same courts are annulling PDP victories, based on the blatant violations of the law by the lawless party, the party is mudslinging the judiciary and President Tinubu.”

Onanuga, however, called on Atiku and the PDP to cease their “campaign of calumny” against the judiciary.

The presidential spokesman urged Atiku and PDP to respect the legal process, stating that judgments are based on law and evidence, not sentiments or emotions.

” It is irresponsible and a disservice to our country for the opposition, after failing to observe the letters and spirits of the law, to now turn around to tear down an important arm of our government.” he added.