Less than ten (10) days to the 2019 general election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have threatened to pull out of the Peace Accord. The party hitched its assertion on comments made by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, recently declared on national television that members of the global democratic institutions that are working for a peaceful election in Nigeria will return to their countries in body bags.
The Peoples Democratic Party also challenge the alleged plot to redeploy, a former Chief Security Officer to APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, CP Kayode Egbetokun, as Kwara state Commissioner of Police, where they revealed that he has been handed the instruction to incite the people, cause pandemonium and pave the way for outright rigging in favor of President Buhari and all other candidates on the platform of APC.
This is in line with plans by the Buhari Presidency and the APC to effect a mass deployment of top security officers, particularly the police, to intimidate, harass and manhandle Nigerians that will not support the self-succession bid of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as aiding APC thugs to snatch ballot boxes and orchestrate violence in the elections.
The party affirms that it is committed to the peace accord. However, the deployment of the Kayode Egbetokun as Kwara CP directly negates the principle of the Peace Accord and can only hurt the fragile peace that currently exists in Kwara state.
"We wish to remind the acting Inspector General, Adamu Mohammed that his acceptability among Nigerians across party line was based on the pedigree, which was presented to Nigerians before his appointment."
These pedigree and exposure place on his shoulders, the responsibility to be just, firm, equitable and professional in the discharge of his duties. We, therefore, urge him not to allow his reputation to be mired in controversial political activities.
Very importantly, the PDP calls on the National Peace Committee to note the infractions by the APC and its leaders to the peace accord, including the provocative shut down of all the stadia in Kano state by the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in order to frustrate the PDP Presidential campaign rallies in the state.
We, therefore, call on the National Peace Committee to immediately summon El-Rufai on his inflammatory remarks against the peaceful election in our country.
The PDP hold that any situation that seeks to allow the APC to abuse the tenets of the accord will definitely force our party to review our signatory to the peace process. In that regard, we might have no option left than to allow our members to defend their votes with whatever that is available to them.
