Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The Bauchi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned in strongest terms the arraignment of its chieftain and former governor of Kano State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 24, 2018 in Kano, saying that it was meant to intimidate the opposition ahead of next year’s elections.
Speaking with journalists weekend, the state publicity secretary of PDP, Alhaji Yayanuwa Zainabari, said that since the inception of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in 2015 at the federal and some states, it has been persecuting opposition members through detentions and arrests “with a view to silencing them from constructive criticisms which is essential in democracy”.
Zainabari lamented that the ‘persecution’ of the ex minister of education was not only undemocratic but barbaric, pointing out that every citizen has the inalienable rights to freedom of expression, association and movement irrespective of their political inclination.
He accused the present APC administrations nationwide of poor performance since their taking over two years ago, claiming that the ruling party resorted to victimisation of the members of the opposition in order to stop them from demanding good governance and mounting pressure on them to deliver their campaign promises.
”Let us tell them that PDP will never be intimidated. Arrests, detentions, arraignments and all forms of persecution cannot deter us from speaking the truth and demanding good governance. PDP remains the most principled and formidable party in Nigeria that is determined to enlighten the electorate continuously on the happenings in the country. And we are very optimistic that come 2019, we will bounce back because APC government has failed woefully,” he alleged.
The party spokesman therefore asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the federal government to do something in order to end the “perpetual victimisation of its bigwigs so that the relative peace being enjoyed in the nation would prevail”.
”It is however worthy to note that if this maltreatment against PDP chieftains continue, the party will not tolerate it. So enough is enough because we are worried with the unfolding events. They should stop that before the situation gets out of hand,” he cautioned.
