PDP and APC argue over Buhari’s visit to Kano

THE leading political parties in Nigeria, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday exchanged blame over the attack on President Muhammadu Buhari’s convoy in Kano.

The president was able to inaugurate projects, but he was not given an exciting welcome, as the residents used to do, because they shunned his visit.

The president, it was gathered, boarded a helicopter from the airport directly to the Inland Dry Port, the site of the inauguration of one of the projects, and paid tribute to the emir.

Unconfirmed sources hint that in Hototo Quarters, some angry residents barricaded the road to one of the project sites and attacked some vehicles in the president’s convoy.

However, the situation was later brought under control after police dispersed the crowd, who set tires on fire with tear gas.

The president was not in the convoy when it was attacked.
A video also showed some residents throwing stones at the helicopter, which took the president to the site of the inauguration.

In response, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claimed in a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, that the president had been attacked by miscreants, allegedly sponsored by some aggrieved politicians.

But the presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) disagreed and asked the security agents to arrest Ologunagba.

The APC PCC said the statement attributed to the PDP spokesperson was part of “the PDP’s plot to orchestrate and carry out many malicious schemes to discredit, ridicule, and ridicule President Buhari and the presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu.” create and delegitimize.”

According to a statement released by Ologunagba on Monday, the PDP said that “this organized attack on the person of the president is outright treason and a sacrilegious attack on our national sovereignty, which must be condemned by all.”

The main opposition party said it was alarmed that the attack was part of an alleged plot to undermine the presidency, sow confusion, provoke violence in the country, disrupt the conduct of the 2023 general election and derail democracy .

The PDP urged Nigerians to take note of how Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State tried to curtail President Buhari’s move, even trying to dissuade him from visiting the state.

The party added: “More troubling is the fact that the APC presidential campaign attempted to humiliate and harm President Buhari while performing his official duties in Kano.

“It should also be noted that APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu has shown public distaste and made inflammatory statements against President Buhari since his statement, in line with democratic best practices around the world, that Nigerians should vote freely on any candidate and party of their choice in the 2023 general election.

“Tinubu’s apparent frustration at resorting to encouraging or condoning violence is fueled by his entitlement mentality that it is his turn to be president, despite his numerous ineligibility and disability baggage.

“Nigerians are reminded of Tinubu’s famous statement in London, where he declared to his supporters that ‘political power is not served in a restaurant, it is not served à la carte’. It’s what we do; It is determined; you do it at all costs; fight for it, grab it, grab it and run with it.”

“Recently, Tinubu further incited his followers against President Buhari at the presidential rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where he accused the president of undermining the election process.”

The PDP advised Tinubu to come to terms with the fact that the Nigerians were determined to hold free, fair and credible elections and that “they stand firm in their choice of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as the next president of our country. ”

Director, Media and Publicity, APC PCC, Bayo Onanuga, refuted the allegation in a statement last night, dismissing it as a contrived, imaginary attack.

While calling on Nigerians to ignore what he described as “fake news from a party that has lost touch with reality,” Onanuga said: “Nigerians of good will would have seen by now that we did not raise a false alarm in our statement issued on Sunday, January 29, 2023, where we described the evil machinations of PDP and their mercenaries.

“Only the evil spirit of the PDP can devise an attack on a president of Nigeria. It is not impossible that PDP, through its paid agents, would organize miscreants to stage an attack, but we are sure that the security services are capable of preventing any planned attack on the president and anyone living in such an unholy conspiracy gets entangled. or in the future will blame himself.”

It called on the security services, especially the police and the Department of State Security (DSS), to immediately arrest the PDP spokesperson for questioning about the alleged attack.