Forget 2019 Re-election Bid, PDP, APP Tell APC, Buhari

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Senator Iroegbu in Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a new political party, Action Peoples Party (APP), on Monday advised President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to perish any thought of staying in power beyond May 29, 2019.

PDP alleged that the APC and presidency are desperately resorting to use of fifth columnists in a bid to destabilise its ranks having realised that Nigerians have rejected them.
The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the president already knows he has failed, adding that such accounts for why he is no longer confident whenever it comes to issues of 2019 general election.

The party said President Buhari’s media adviser, Femi Adesina, only confirmed the obvious when he announced the apprehensions being entertained by the president over the 2019 race, adding that he, (President Buhari) must have appropriately assessed and rated his administration as a failure.
It said the president need not bother about opponents if he had done well in office, warning the APC and the presidency to end their current attempts to use paid fifth columnists in their failed bid to cause disharmony within the repositioned and rebranded PDP.

“It is instructive to note that the presidency’s comment is coming after the intimidating PDP mega rally in Dutse, Jigawa State, which sent a clear signal to President Buhari and the APC.
“If President Buhari had done well in office; if his government had not wrecked our economy; if his government had not damaged our national unity, resulting in the daily bloodletting in our country; if his administration had not betrayed the people and failed in delivering even the littlest of his campaign promises, President Buhari would not be afraid of any opponent ahead of elections as stated by his media aide.

“From Adesina’s comment, it is clear that the president is fully aware that he has become grossly unpopular and cannot command any electoral value. Both the president and his party must therefore instruct themselves appropriately and completely bury the thought of staying in office beyond May 2019.
“We therefore advice the presidency and the APC to jettison any plot to force its way using intimidation, coercion and manipulations as such would be firmly resisted by Nigerians.

“In the same vein, we charge the APC and the president to note that its resort to sponsoring fifth columnists on smear campaigns against our repositioned and reinvigorated party has become of no effect as our members and supporters in all the states and the six geo-political zones across the nation are now, more than ever before, firmly united under the new leadership of the party to vanquish the APC in the 2019 general elections.

“Finally, the re-positioned PDP re-assures Nigerians of a level playing ground and open political space in all processes leading to the selection of candidates at all levels to ensure that the nation gets the leadership it desires and ultimately return to the path of national unity and prosperity.”
On its part, the APP advised President Buhari to jettison his constitutional right of running for presidency in 2019.

The party warned that should the president fail to salvage the last honour Nigerians have for him by honourably declining to contest in 2019, he would be humiliated at the polls.
Rather, he was asked to support the emergence of a new generation of young leader.
The National Chairman of the party, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, sounded the note of warning at the public presentation of the APP, its two-point agenda and 12 pillars at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Castigating Buhari and the APC-led government for grave violations of the constitution, human rights and the rule of law, he warned the president that “but where you decide against the wishes of the Nigerian people and put yourself forward, you stand the electoral risk of being humiliated at the polls and any attempt by your party to manipulate the electoral process and foist yourself on Nigerians in 2019 shall be resisted within the ambits of the law.”

Relying out some of the many offences of the president, he said: “You came to power on a very popular mandate. Religious, ethnic and all other sentiments were set aside, hopes were very high. Nigerians were ready to be led by their own president and they placed all their support at your disposal. But three years down the line, you have squandered all the goodwill.
“You selected people who most of them are seen and known to be incompetent. No President in Nigeria had ever selected such a team. Your incompetence is no longer in doubt, you have failed Nigeria. You have divided us across our faith lines, you collapsed our economy, youth unemployment is at record high, and nepotism is now the order of the day”.

The party said the president has performed abysmally on the tripod of the APC campaign promises of security, corruption and economy stressing that the president and his party have exhibited a total lack of capacity and knowledge to protect the lives of Nigerians in basically every state of the federation.
Ugochinyere said the failure of the APC-led government that necessitated the formation of the APP to rebuild the economy and unite the country backed with 12 pillars for the rapid and radical economic, political and social rebuilding of Nigeria.

He said the party would in furtherance of the national healing agenda and fulfillment of its pursuit of equity, justice and fairness, “lay to rest the controversies of the June 12 election by announcing the result, M.K.O Abiola will be declared winner and enrolled as a former President of the country while June 12 will be passed by the parliament as the national democracy day.”

In addition, he said the party would observe rule of law at all time, ensure transparency and accountability in all affairs of government, reform the polity and restructure while anti-corruption crusade would be transparent.
“We are social democrats, we shall bring a new socio- economic and political order for our people focused on improved quality of life, justice and equality, freedom, participatory democracy, income redistribution, etc,” he said.

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