The Peoples Democratic Party has lambasted the ruling All
Progressives Congress for condemning its Saturday’s national convention
which threw up new leaders for the opposition party.
The APC had in a statement on Sunday morning described
the PDP convention as characterised by vote buying and ballot rigging,
saying the exercise exposed the opposition party as a platform with
corruption in its DNA.
“The abnormalities that trailed the PDP National Convention have
further exposed the PDP as a Party not ready and willing to change,” the
ruling party said through its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi. “Indeed,
the PDP has once again displayed itself to the generality of Nigerians
that it is a Party with corruption deeply rooted in its DNA.”
But in a statement circulated Sunday night, the National Publicity
Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, shot back, saying having failed
Nigerians and violated its own constitution, the APC lacked the
credibility to discredit his party’s national convention.
“Nigerians have come to discover that APC is a fraud, an organization
of deceitful characters who have failed to keep a single of its
countless promises made to the citizens,” Mr. Ologbondiyan said.
Read the PDP full statement below. The APC’s earlier statement is here.
Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the spokesman
of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Malam Bolaji Abdulahi, wherein he
criticized the conduct of the elective National Convention of our great
party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It is indeed laughable that the APC which has roundly failed in not
only managing the affairs of the country but also its own internal
issues would recourse to panic mode just because the PDP has succeeded
in uniting its fronts by conducting of a very credible elective National
Convention.
We were very much aware of the plots by the APC to scuttle the
convention and failing it has resorted to a failed attempt to discredit
an elective convention that has been adjudged as creditable, novel and
laudable by political stakeholders and lovers of democracy across the
nation.
This unwarranted attack is only symptomatic of a party that has lost
control and only clutching on straws for survival having been outrightly
rejected by Nigerians.
Is it not disgusting, reprehensible and embarrassing that the APC
that has repeatedly failed to hold meetings, congresses and convention
in the last three years and has flagrantly continued to violate its own
constitution is questioning our party’s rights to perform her legitimate
and constitutional obligation?
Perhaps APC leaders have never read Article 25 (A)(i) of their
party’s Constitution which stipulates that “the National Convention of
the party (APC) shall be held once in two years at a date, venue and
time to be recommended by the National Working Committee (NWC) and
approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC) subject to the giving
of the statutory notices to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and at least 14 days notice given to members eligible
to attend.”
Which impunity could be higher than APC violating its constitution?
It is strange that APC could be moralizing on the principles of social
justice whereas its actions against Nigerians are a complete departure
from the norms.
It is important for this spokesman of a failed party and his pack of
incompetent members to reminisce on the needless pains and suffering
they have inflicted on Nigerians rather than being jittery over the
successful outcome of the PDP’s elective national convention.
Nigerians have come to discover that APC is a fraud, an organization
of deceitful characters who have failed to keep a single of its
countless promises made to the citizens.
It is no longer news that the nation is drifting under APC and the
PDP has come to the rescue. We must therefore remind the APC that the
era of deceit, trickery and scaremongering, which has been the hallmarks
of their government, is gone and Nigerians are just waiting to kick
them out come 2019.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary