general elections. He alleged that the APC hatched the plot to cause chaos because the party knew very well that the PDP would win the 2015 general elections. Secondus had also at the Port Harcourt Local Government Area governorship rally held the previous day accused the APC of plotting to destabilise the country. He said the APC planned to recruit a private army, which would include the dreaded Boko Haram sect with a view to using them to rig the elections, mainly in the North Eastern part of the country. He also alleged that Governor Rotimi Amaechi has imported a large consignment of army and police uniforms for the general elections. Giving insight into other ways which the APC planned to derail the government of
President Goodluck Jonathan, Secondus said the first was to create panic in the minds of Nigerians to scare them from coming out to perform their civic duties on the scheduled dates for the elections. He said the APC knowing that it did not have the structure to win the 2015 general elections has embarked on campaign of calumny against the Presidency and the military following the shift in the election date by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). “APC is sponsoring frightening captions in the media, threatening wars and bloodshed, particularly in some parts of the country just to frighten Nigerians,” he said. The second tactics he said was the allegation by Governor Amaechi that pastors were given N6 billion to pray for the
President and PDP. Secondus said Amaechi’s intention in making the allegation was to create confusion among the Christians and spread suspicion and distrust in the church. He described the development as the height of evil and a satanic agenda targeted against the church and Nigeria. Secondus said other schemes by the APC included an attempt by the party to bribe the nation’s security forces to cause disharmony in the hierarchy. He described the moves as unnecessary and an indication that the APC was not ready for the elections and called on Rivers people to reject the party and vote for the PDP which, he said, meant well for Nigerians. Secondus also commented on the refusal of General Muhammadu Buhari to participate in a public debate with President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the essence of the exercise was to determine what the two Presidential candidates have to offer Nigerians. However, Amaechi has denied the allegations, saying that PDP was merely crying wolves when there was none. Speaking through his Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Amaechi said “there was no truth in the allegation. It is only PDP that is known to be involved in things like that because they are associated with violence. “His Excellency, Rotimi Amaechi cannot do that kind of a thing (importation of Army and Police uniforms). If the allegations were true, the security agencies would have been the ones to raise an alarm, not PDP. Maybe that is what they are planning to do in the elections,” Ibim said. In another development, the APC has accused the Federal Government of planning to arrest its officials. It, however, said the party’s leadership and members would not be intimidated by the latest antics of the Jonathan Administration to harass and intimidate the opposition, especially in the run-up to the general elections. In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the recent military siege on APC National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s residence and the Imo State Government House and the police harassment of APC’s Presidential Campaign Spokesman Garba Shehu fit perfectly into the emerging pattern. ‘’As the elections approach, we know the harassment and intimidation will be stepped up. We know our leaders, including the National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun; National Leader, Bola Tinubu; Governor Rotimi Amaechi; former Governor Timipre Sylva; Senator Bukola Saraki and National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, are under surveillance and their phones being hacked. ‘’We are aware that several of them, especially the National Publicity Secretary, have been marked down for arrest in the days to come. We know there are evil plots to frame some of them on trumped-up charges. “We know our lives are in danger.
But these and more will not deter us from continuing to act in the national interest or from seeking to effect change through the ballot box,” the party stated. The APC raised alarm over the police siege on the residence of the Director of Media and Publicity of the party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Shehu Garba. The party said Garba’s residence at the NNPC Quarters, Area 11, Abuja, had been surrounded by armed policemen since 3 a.m. on Thursday, making it impossible for him to even go to the mosque for prayers. ‘’Going after the spokesman of our party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation is aimed at muffling the organisation’s voice and abridging the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of the spokesman himself. This is antithetic to democracy and totally unacceptable,’’ it said. The APC called on those who sent the armed security personnel to Garba’s residence to immediately order their withdrawal and tell Nigerians what he has done to warrant such harassment. APC thanked Nigerians for their immense and unwavering support, especially since the postponement of the elections. ‘’We are glad that instead of weakening the resolve and enthusiasm of Nigerians, the Presidency-orchestated postponement has further galvanized them to be more determined not only to vote but also to defend their votes,” it stated. The party called on President Jonathan to remember the verdict of history and put his dogs of war on a leash, saying history would judge no one but him, even for the actions of his supporters who act in his name.
Source: Daily Independent
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