The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council has cautioned Nigerians against voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu saying a vote for him would lead to the death of democracy in the country.
Spokesman of the Atiku-Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Charles Aniagwu gave the advice at a news conference on Sunday in Asaba.
He said that Tinubu had stifled opposition in Lagos State to the extent that it had become almost impossible to display the insignia of other opposition parties in Lagos without being attacked by elements loyal to the APC Presidential Candidate.
Aniagwu said: “Today, democracy has taken a nose dive in Lagos, you cannot even go and advertise any candidate or place the insignia of any political party apart from the APC in Lagos.
“Imaging if that kind of person becomes the president of Nigeria it means that it would be worse than military rule. Any vote for Tinubu is a vote for the death of democracy in Nigeria, its a vote for the death of electoral democracy in Nigeria.
“Hence Nigerians must take notice that the issue is not about his state of mind at the moment but that those canvassing for him, have ulterior motive.
“We don’t believe that their interest is Nigeria because they would have understood quite well that Bola Tinubu does not believe in democracy, if he does, he will not prevent people from being able to freely participate in democracy in Lagos.
“You will recall what happened in 2019 to our brothers in FESTAC area of Lagos, today you can’t have any billboard showcasing the insignia or the picture or campaign message of any of the political parties apart from the APC in Lagos.
“Is that the kind of person we want in our Nigeria were we believe that freedom is the major ingredient of democracy? Therefore this election is not just about voting but about the democratic and socio-economic survival of our country which Bola Tinubu cannot provide solution to,” Aniagwu stated.
He added that the APC had adopted a new tactics of dissociating their Presidential candidate from the policies of the government because they have failed as a government and as a political party.
“You hear them say that the naira redesign and the issue of fuel scarcity and the challenges associated with it is not the policy of the APC and i wonder who owns the policy?
“They are now trying to take away Tinubu who has been the self acclaimed National Leader of the APC. He wants to take himself away from the abysmal performance of the APC.
He said Lagos was only better than Damascus in Syria, a city in a country that has been at war and yet they want to make us believe that Tinubu has done well in Lagos.
Aniagwu who is also Commissioner for Information in Delta, said the state government had uncovered plans by the APC in the state to malign the government by printing posters and banners urging the people to reject the PDP over alleged fresh loans.
“Sometime ago we informed you about the efforts of the APC to blackmail the leadership of the state and indeed the PDP Presidential candidate and his running mate.
They have not succeeded in the many times they have tried but now we have it on good authority because we have evidence that they have printed posters, banners and billboards to discredit this administration on the frivolous allegation of collecting new loans.
“The APC here in Delta had attacked us before now particularly in the area of infrastructure and they couldn’t make any headway because we were able to prove to persons outside Delta that we have justified the resources at our disposal.
“Those in Delta have seen the enormous resources that we have invested in building a number of infrastructure in road, education, aviation sectors and human capital development through the various job creation platforms that we have deployed for the purpose of creating entrepreneurs and reducing unemployment in our state.
“Because they cannot attack us on these planks, they are now resorting to propaganda and lies and one of such is the printing of posters, banners and billboards alleging that we are taking a new loan which is not true.
“We are placing it on record that that is what they are planning so when you see them coming out with posters, banners and bill boards, take note that it is politically motivated as it has nothing to do with what we are doing in Delta.
“I appeal to Deltans not to fall for the cheap blackmail and propaganda orchestrated by Omo-Agege and his cohorts,”
On the Warri NBA statement accusing Okowa of frustrating appointment of judges, Aniagwu slammed the Warri Bar Association for exhibiting crass ignorance on the judiciary in the state.
He advised the Warri NBA Chairman to go back and check the law guiding the appointment of judges, adding that the state government had fulfilled all the requirements expected by the NJC.
“First this administration is among the first to grant autonomy to the judiciary in this country. Today our judiciary is autonomous in terms of their operations and finances.
“Secondly we have been able to provide better court rooms than any other administration had ever done and thirdly the National Judicial Council NJC, has a role to play in the appointment of judges do even when you nominate judges, not until the NJC approves that those judges be appointed you cannot proceed to make the appointment.
“One of the criteria is for the NJC to send a team to verify two major things after they have done their screening, which is availability of vehicles and residential quarters and we have already put in place those two criteria.
“The NJC need to create the time to come and am aware that sometime this week the team from NJC would be coming for the purpose of that verification.
“So for the NBA in Warri to progress in error, to begin to think that it is only the governor that picks a judge, you cannot undermine the constitutional powers of the NJC to appoint judges.
“But the NBA in Warri and its leadership delved into the political arena and as such lost sight of the constitutional requirements that determines how somebody becomes a judge.
“We don’t want to join issues with them because they have only demonstrated ignorance of the law that they claim to be apostle of and that is very pitiable.
“We advise the Chairman of the Warri NBA to go back and look at what the law says in the appointment of judges so that he would discover that he progressed very seriously in error on the issues he raised because it is not the governor that just wakes up and appoint a judge.
“The Governor will wait for the NJC to give its nod before the person can be sworn-in as a judge,” he stated.
