by Kingseyi Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:23 amABUJA—The leadership of Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, has threatened to pull out of the
2019 general elections if the electoral umpire
and security agencies fail to demonstrate
sufficient level of impartiality expected from them
by Nigerians and the rest of the world.
Uche Secondus
This is even as a presidential aspirant on the
platform of the party and former Vice President,
Atiku Abubakar, said, yesterday, that the party
would resist any attempt by anybody to rig the
elections.
National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche
Secondus, stated this at the party’s national
secretariat, yesterday, while playing host to a
combined delegation of the International
Republican Institute, IRI, and National Democratic
Institute, NDI.
Secondus, who lamented what he called the
manipulation of vote figures by Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the
recently concluded Ekiti governorship election in
favour of All Progressives Congress, APC, also
accused the Police of chasing away PDP agents
from various polling centres, particularly areas
known to be its strongholds.
He said: “We are still contemplating on whether
we will participate in the 2019 elections or not.
We are yet to take a decision on this. We
believe that if we are not sure that both INEC
and security agencies will be transparent and
that they will not take side, we will take a
decision.
‘’We are consulting as to whether we shall
participate or not; because you are participating
against security agencies and INEC who have
colluded to alter figures. So, we are in a
dilemma. We are not sure that the security
agencies and INEC would be impartial and
transparent. In the Ekiti elections, there were
instances where our party agents’ tags were
removed and given to the APC agents.
“There were clear cases of manipulation, ballot
snatching and harassment of our party agents.”
Leader of the delegation, Pauline Beckamp, said
the institutes were at the party’s headquarters to
ascertain the challenges it was facing ahead of
the general elections, in order to engage the
umpire, with a view to finding solutions.
We’ll resist attempt to rig 2019 general election
—Atiku
Meanwhile, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said PDP
would resist any attempt by anybody to rig the
elections.
Atiku stated this in Jalingo, Taraba State capital
on Wednesday while he was in the state to
solicit the support of PDP members.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar at
the first Jumu’at prayer in the 2018
Ramadan season with the Yola Ummah at
the Yola Central Mosque, Yola, Adamawa
State.
He said Nigeria needed restructuring at almost
all levels, stressing that it takes experience of
Nigerians like him to take the country to the
desired levels.
He said: “I have come to request for your
support so that I will be able to emerge as the
PDP presidential flag bearer for the 2019 general
election. Taraba is home for me, I believe if I
succeed, you will also succeed.”
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State in his
response, said Nigerians were desperately
seeking the type of change that will stop daily
killings of people and destruction of property
across the nation.
Ishaku, who received the former vice president
at Government House, Jalingo, said it had
become necessary to look for a credible
candidate in PDP who will defeat other
presidential candidates in the 2019 general
election and also deliver Nigeria from its current
situation.
He said Nigerians had turned their attention to
PDP as a solution to give them a credible
candidate that will come with high profile ideas
that would stop the ongoing daily killings and
maintain the country’s unity.
“You can’t say your administration is fighting
corruption while people are being killed on a
daily basis. You can’t lock up people in prisons
on the basis that they stole money while you
keep mute to killings of human beings, that is
also corruption.
“Your Excellency, the former vice president, we
are very happy that you have come back to
PDP, some of us kept wondering how can you
build a beautiful house such as PDP and you
abandoned to join a mud house that can fall at
any time.
“If you check the records, you will discover that
across the country, it’s only PDP governors that
are working, PDP is the only nationalistic party
in Nigeria.
“Just recently, they listed seven of us as
governors that they must unseat, even if it com
es to use of the power gun and rigging, but for
me I told them they are not God. Honestly, we
need a new turn around in Nigeria and PDP is
the only political party with such composition.
“We will do our best to give you the necessary
support to succeed because it’s our belief that if
you are there, our needs will be granted,” the
governor said.
Ishaku, while condemning the killings across
Nigeria, stated that he had no powers on a
single military troop as the chief security officer
of the state.
He called on the former vice president to
consider restructuring of the security apparatus
of the country, if Nigerians gave him the
mandate.
Party, PDP, has threatened to pull out of the
2019 general elections if the electoral umpire
and security agencies fail to demonstrate
sufficient level of impartiality expected from them
by Nigerians and the rest of the world.
Uche Secondus
This is even as a presidential aspirant on the
platform of the party and former Vice President,
Atiku Abubakar, said, yesterday, that the party
would resist any attempt by anybody to rig the
elections.
National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche
Secondus, stated this at the party’s national
secretariat, yesterday, while playing host to a
combined delegation of the International
Republican Institute, IRI, and National Democratic
Institute, NDI.
Secondus, who lamented what he called the
manipulation of vote figures by Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the
recently concluded Ekiti governorship election in
favour of All Progressives Congress, APC, also
accused the Police of chasing away PDP agents
from various polling centres, particularly areas
known to be its strongholds.
He said: “We are still contemplating on whether
we will participate in the 2019 elections or not.
We are yet to take a decision on this. We
believe that if we are not sure that both INEC
and security agencies will be transparent and
that they will not take side, we will take a
decision.
‘’We are consulting as to whether we shall
participate or not; because you are participating
against security agencies and INEC who have
colluded to alter figures. So, we are in a
dilemma. We are not sure that the security
agencies and INEC would be impartial and
transparent. In the Ekiti elections, there were
instances where our party agents’ tags were
removed and given to the APC agents.
“There were clear cases of manipulation, ballot
snatching and harassment of our party agents.”
Leader of the delegation, Pauline Beckamp, said
the institutes were at the party’s headquarters to
ascertain the challenges it was facing ahead of
the general elections, in order to engage the
umpire, with a view to finding solutions.
We’ll resist attempt to rig 2019 general election
—Atiku
Meanwhile, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said PDP
would resist any attempt by anybody to rig the
elections.
Atiku stated this in Jalingo, Taraba State capital
on Wednesday while he was in the state to
solicit the support of PDP members.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar at
the first Jumu’at prayer in the 2018
Ramadan season with the Yola Ummah at
the Yola Central Mosque, Yola, Adamawa
State.
He said Nigeria needed restructuring at almost
all levels, stressing that it takes experience of
Nigerians like him to take the country to the
desired levels.
He said: “I have come to request for your
support so that I will be able to emerge as the
PDP presidential flag bearer for the 2019 general
election. Taraba is home for me, I believe if I
succeed, you will also succeed.”
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State in his
response, said Nigerians were desperately
seeking the type of change that will stop daily
killings of people and destruction of property
across the nation.
Ishaku, who received the former vice president
at Government House, Jalingo, said it had
become necessary to look for a credible
candidate in PDP who will defeat other
presidential candidates in the 2019 general
election and also deliver Nigeria from its current
situation.
He said Nigerians had turned their attention to
PDP as a solution to give them a credible
candidate that will come with high profile ideas
that would stop the ongoing daily killings and
maintain the country’s unity.
“You can’t say your administration is fighting
corruption while people are being killed on a
daily basis. You can’t lock up people in prisons
on the basis that they stole money while you
keep mute to killings of human beings, that is
also corruption.
“Your Excellency, the former vice president, we
are very happy that you have come back to
PDP, some of us kept wondering how can you
build a beautiful house such as PDP and you
abandoned to join a mud house that can fall at
any time.
“If you check the records, you will discover that
across the country, it’s only PDP governors that
are working, PDP is the only nationalistic party
in Nigeria.
“Just recently, they listed seven of us as
governors that they must unseat, even if it com
es to use of the power gun and rigging, but for
me I told them they are not God. Honestly, we
need a new turn around in Nigeria and PDP is
the only political party with such composition.
“We will do our best to give you the necessary
support to succeed because it’s our belief that if
you are there, our needs will be granted,” the
governor said.
Ishaku, while condemning the killings across
Nigeria, stated that he had no powers on a
single military troop as the chief security officer
of the state.
He called on the former vice president to
consider restructuring of the security apparatus
of the country, if Nigerians gave him the
mandate.
