PDP Accuses APC Of Planning A One-party State

In what appears to be the full assumption of an opposition party role,
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun a round of accusations
against the emerging"governing party", the All Progressives Congress
(APC).

The PDP in a statement on Sunday accused the APC of planning a
one-party system in Nigeria and encouraging mass defection of its
members to APC.

The party cited APC's meeting with prominent members of PDP as proof
that the APC is encouraging mass defection and disharmony in PDP.

The accusation coincided with the demand for a greater recognition for
the South-east geo-political region in the merging dispensation.

The call for a greater role for the South-east came from a media
practitioner and public affairs analyst, Mr. Innocent Ebirim, who
argued that contrary to the impression created in the polity that
there are no lawmakers in the National assembly elected on the
platform of the APC, there are some three lawmakers produced by the
party in Imo State.

A former national chairman of PDP, Vincent Ogbulafor, last week held a
closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of APC, John Odigie
Oyegun.

The party further said that it does not need a refresher course from
the APC to effectively function as an opposition political party.

Reacting to Friday's statement by the National Publicity Secretary of
APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, which the PDP described as self-serving, it
said that the spokesman of APC in his usual ill-mannered and
condemnable approach left the allegation of moving Nigeria towards a
one-party state and dwelt on insults, disdainful comments and personal
attacks.

PDP in the statement said that it aligns with the stand of its
National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, who accused APC of plotting
to impose a one-party system on the country and is now approaching
some senior members of the PDP with phantom promises and threats
ostensibly to destabilise the party.

According to the statement signed by the PDP Directorate Department,
it asked:"Is Alhaji Lai Mohammed feigning ignorance of the various
recent open and nocturnal meetings of his party with highly respected
members of the PDP?

"We are aware that as part of the plot, the APC in the past few weeks,
has been luring and encouraging some of our members to issue
derogatory statements against the leadership of our party. While some
of their accomplices have openly decamped, we know that others have
been instructed to stay back and cause crisis within our ranks.

"Even in states where they lost, the APC has engaged in violence and
instigating crisis all in the bid to impose a one-party system on the
country."

Dismissing the call by Mohammed to Metuh to come for a refresher
course on how to manage publicity as the opposition party, the PDP
Publicity Directorate said:"The PDP National Publicity Secretary does
not need Alhaji Mohammed's so-called six weeks crash course in party
publicity. He does not need a course on how to insult and denigrate
the office and person of the president of our country.

"He has already made it clear that the PDP will do no such thing but
only focus on constructive criticism while presenting credible
alternatives to the policies and programmes of the incoming
administration in a manner that will promote democracy and the
well-being of Nigerians.

"Nobody can learn anything from the APC National Publicity Secretary
except abuses, divisiveness, lies and hate campaign. Nigerians know
that Lai Mohammed is the originator of hate campaign with which he
fouled our contemporary political arena. It is to say the least,
despicable that his style badly influenced hundreds of young people
who now engage in abusing one another on the social media thinking
that such is what publicity is all about.

"For emphasis, we ask Alhaji Mohammed to go back to the statements the
PDP and APC issued in the last three months and he will realise that
while he was busy with hate campaign, raining insults and telling
lies, Chief Metuh focused only on points, marketing our candidates
while promoting policies and issues that engender national unity,
stability and progress. He therefore has nothing to learn from Lai
Mohammed.

"The APC spokesman must understand that Chief Metuh is not in any way
the weakest link but has only chosen to be mature, humble and civil in
dealing with national issues.

"We therefore counsel Alhaji Mohammed to be careful with the way he is
parading himself as a Colossus bestriding the globe; otherwise one
would think that he is suffering from Narcissist Personality Disorder
(NPD).

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