– The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claims the APC has a hand in the recent siege on the National Assembly
– The PDP warns the APC to stop twisting facts relating to the DSS invasion of the National Assembly
– It also accuses the presidency of deliberately keeping the INEC budget for months
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Saturday, August 18, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of trying to fabricate information concerning the recent siege on the National Assembly just to hide its culpability.
The PDP, in a statement by its national spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, claimed the APC resorted to blackmail, twisting of facts and fabrications adding that these cannot sway Nigerians from the truth of the ruling party’s culpability in the impasse at the National Assembly.
According to the PDP, Nigerians are already aware of how the APC has been frustrating the National Assembly by creating hitches, illegal impeachment processes, physical blockage of the legislature’s access and besieging of the official residence of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
“Nigerians know those who set security agents after the National Assembly members, set parliamentarians against one another and have been chasing lawmakers around the country with tons of money as bribe, just to illegally change the leadership.
“We are not amazed that the APC, in its characteristic shambolic denials, will turn around to point accusing fingers at our repositioned party and members for the situation in the National Assembly, when the echoes of their open threats, tantrums, verbosity and loquaciousness against our legislators are yet to evaporate from the public space.
“The APC is pretending not to remember that the Buhari presidency deliberately kept the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) budget submitted to it since February till July when it presented it to the National Assembly and curiously demanded that the fund be vired from the constituency project fund of lawmakers.
“Nigerians will recall that as a patriotic and responsible party, the PDP raised the flag and pointed out that bringing the budget in July, at the time the National Assembly was already going on annual vacation, was rather late and asking that the fund be vired from constituency project fund was sinking the INEC budget and the entire 2019 electoral process in a needless controversy. The APC and the Buhari Presidency ignored this wise counseling,” the PDP said.
It also accused the APC of failing to note that Nigerians are aware that “it is President Buhari that is holding the nation to ransom by refusing to sign the electoral act amendment bill, already passed by the National Assembly, just because the amendment checked the machination which APC intend to deploy to rig the 2019 general elections.
“Moreover, relevant National Assembly committees have been having interface with INEC over the budget presented by the president. Except for the sinister intent of the APC to shut down our National Assembly and bring forth a totalitarian system of government, there is nothing deserving of the wailing of the APC to reopen the chambers of the National Assembly at its instance.
“The rules for reconvening the chambers of the National Assembly are extant.
“Also, since the PDP told its members to rise in defence of democracy and stop the rigging and vote buying of the APC, the ruling party has gone hysterical and making all manners of spurious and diversionary allegations, but it will be instructive for the APC to accept that it has failed Nigerians and the people have resolved to vote them out, come February, 2019.”
TRACK NEWS earlier reported how Bukola Saraki, and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have both reacted to the siege on the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
