John Alechenu, Olusola Fabiyi, Gbenro Adeoye and Leke Baiyewu
The Peoples Democratic Party has accused the All Progressives Congress and the Federal Government of plotting to use “a fraudulent interim court order” to declare vacant, the seat of the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, following his defection from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party.
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The PDP alleged that credible information at its disposal showed that some cabals in the Presidency and the APC had perfected a plan to institute a lawsuit challenging the validity of Saraki’s seat with the sole aim of securing a court injunction to force him out of office pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The National Publicity Secretary, PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegations in a statement in Abuja on Friday.
He added that intelligence available to the party showed that once both the Federal Government and the APC are able to secure the injunction from a particular compromised judicial officer, they would then arraign and detain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on what he called trumped up charges and ensure “he is not granted bail so as to keep him out of circulation while their men would move in to effect an illegal leadership change in the Senate.”
The PDP spokesman said that the party believed that the judiciary would not allow itself to be used, adding that what both the APC and the Federal Government were allegedly planning could be likened to coup in democracy.
Ologbondiyan said, “While we trust that the Chief Justice of Nigeria will protect the sanctity of our judiciary especially at this trying time in our national history, we call on the institution of the judiciary at all levels to immune itself from being used by enemies of our democracy as no house falls leaving its roof standing.
“This desperation by despotic forces to forcefully and illegally take control of the Senate, the highest symbol of our democratic order, is nothing short of ‘civilianised coup’ which must be resisted by all.
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“The judiciary must therefore ensure that it is not intimidated or ensnared to be party to a desperate bid to destabilise our nation.
“The PDP holds that this newest devilish plot to destabilise our democracy lays credence to our earlier stand that President Buhari’s supposed London vacation is a ploy to absolve himself of responsibility for the political terror they have plotted to unleash on the opposition, especially the National Assembly.
“Although they denied it as usual, Nigerians can bear witness to the fact that there is nothing the APC government denied that they did not eventually execute.”
Ologbondiyan said there had never been any impunity allegedly executed by the Federal Government and the APC that they did not deny.
He pointed out that the recent attempt to hold Saraki and Ekweremadu hostage in their homes as well as the alleged terrorisation of the Benue State House of Assembly after Governor Samuel Ortom’s defection from the APC, bore sad testimony to his allegation.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians and the international community to be on the alert “as the conspirators plan to commence the execution of this evil plot from Tuesday next week.”
The PDP spokesman warned the APC and others in the alleged plot, saying they would be running on a collision course with Nigerians, whom he said, would not fold their hands and watch them destroy “our hard-earned democracy and foist a fascism on our dear nation. “
However, the APC in its response asked the opposition PDP to stop chasing shadows and prepare for elections instead of peddling rumours which lack basis in facts. The National Vice-Chairman of the APC (South South), Hilliard Eta, said this in a telephone interview with Saturday PUNCH, in Abuja, on Friday.
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He said, “We in the APC are law abiding citizens. Our advice to the PDP is for them to stop chasing shadows by peddling rumours and outright falsehoods all in the name of opposition; they should go and prepare for elections.”
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