By Laleye Dipo in Minna
The All Progressive Congress (APC) has been accused of fueling the crisis within the leadership of the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State.
The State Chairman of the party, Mr. Tanko Beji also claimed that the APC was using some security organisations in the state to ‘coerce and intimidate’ its members so that they would decamp to the ruling party.
Beji made the allegations in Minna, Niger state on Friday while fielding questions from Journalists.
He asserted that the APC was behind the recent parallel state congress held by some members of the PDP, saying that apart from releasing a public building for the holding of the congress, the APC government donated N3million for the same purpose which saw the emergence of a rival state executive council of the PDP.
In the last couple of days, Beji said some security operatives in the State had been unleashed on PDP Members who held sensitive political positions during its 16 year governance of the State.
“They (APC) are instilling fears in these people so that they can decamp to the ruling APC to seek protection.
“Some of these former political appointees are already decamping to the APC not because they like the APC, but just because they feel going to the APC will give them protection from the ruling party and security operatives’.
“I was also invited and quizzed for two days; I was detained in an air-conditioned office for three hours I made statement to the investigators.
“They asked me how the PDP got the N50m donation made for the construction of the National secretariat and another N10m donated to the North Central zone secretariat project’.
Tanko Beji said the security operatives also wanted to know those that the PDP described as ‘high profile’ citizens in a document they had stumbled on who regularly got financial assistance from the party during festive periods and at elections.
The PDP chieftain said he obliged the investigators with all the information they requested some in documents and others verbally.
‘They (security) were very civil they treated me well’ he said adding that if the police would continue to do their work the way they handled him Nigerians would have no reason to complain about the force.
On some of the PDP members that have decamped to the ruling APC Tanko Beji said most of them had lost the support they had from the people because people were rooting for them because of the positions they held, now that they are not in the positions nobody goes to them.
‘The PDP is still a formidable party in this state’ he said saying that large numbers of people trooped out to welcome the leadership of the party during its visits to 15 local government areas where the local chapters of the party were inaugurated.
