Osun 2018: PDP blasts Buhari, APC, over intimidation

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the weekend, blasted President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over political intimidation and subversion of democratic freedom in the electioneering campaign for the September 22, 2018, governorship election in Osun State over the freezing of the bank accounts of the PDP candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, and those of his family members, including music star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja, decried that the action is “oppressive, tyrannical, provocative and a direct recipe for crisis in the state, given that the people of Osun are solidly behind Adeleke ahead of the election.”

Kola Ologbondiyan, in the statement argued: “the freezing of the Adelekes’ accounts by an agency of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, a week to the governorship election, underscores the fact that APC is mortally afraid of our candidate and has been seeking ways to undermine his electoral fortunes.

“Such savage attack on innocent citizens confirms the viciousness of the Buhari-led APC administration to use any means whatsoever to subjugate Nigerians and appropriate power to itself at all cost.

“Does it not smack of political brutality that President Buhari approved the secret release of N16.6bn to Osun APC to pay thugs to manhandle voters and rig the election, while his EFCC was directed to freeze the legitimate account of our candidate and his family, not minding the collateral damage such would have on millions that had benefited from the goodwill of the family?

“What President Buhari and his APC do not understand is that theirs is a den of thieves and that the leaders of the APC are frittering the N16bn away.

“Moreover, the people of Osun state are completely behind Senator Adeleke and will freely vote for him irrespective of the machinations of the Buhari-Ied APC.”

Adeleke, representing Osun West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, is considered the strong contender for the successor of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the September 22 governorship poll which APC is sponsoring Gboyega Oyetola.

The PDP further cautioned that APC will be held responsible should any harm befall former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku or any of its presidential aspirants ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“The PDP does not take these threats as a ruse and we demand an open inquest into all the issues raised by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in his petition to President Buhari,” Ologbondiyan declared.

Atiku had in a petition to President Muhamadu Buhari last Thursday, complained that he had received text messages warning him to drop his presidential ambition; saying that the author of the text message threatened to either kill or rape his wife and daughters.