The National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency of plots to frame up its presidential candidate in the February 23 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The opposition party however said no amount of fabrications, attempt at set-up as well as veiled and open threats by the (APC)-led Federal Government can stop Atiku from reclaiming his mandate at the tribunal.
Atiku, who lost the election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, has gone to court to challenge the President’s re-election.
In a statement Thursday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party rejected a declaration by the Presidency that Atiku Abubakar is “lucky to be walking free”,.
It described the statement as inciting, adding that it has brought to the fore the unwholesome intention of the APC-led administration against Atiku Abubakar for seeking to retrieve his “stolen mandate” at the court.
The PDP further noted what it termed series of orchestrated calumny against Atiku Abubakar and the PDP by agents of the Federal Government, officials of the Presidency and the Buhari Media Organization (BMO).
The main opposition party alleged well-coordinated plots against Atiku, including a resort to unfounded claims of links with a foreign lobby group.
This, the PDP said, was part of attempts to frame Atiku up, cause tension and ultimately derail the recovery of the “stolen mandate” at the presidential election tribunal.
“Such orchestration are also targeted at instilling fear, cause apprehension in the citizenry and create opening to further suppress genuine public opinion and the course of justice in the quest by Atiku Abubakar and the PDP to restore the will of the people.
“Part of the motive is to use lies, fabrications, threats and sponsoring of Atiku campaign posters to portray Atiku Abubakar and the PDP as being desperate and ready to subvert the rules in the pursuit of our mandate; and by so doing discredit our candidate in the eyes of the judiciary and the public in general.
“This explains why agents of the APC-led government fabricated and pushed into the public space, bogus and laughable claims that Atiku Abubakar paid $30,000 to a US lobby group to assist in the quest to reclaim our mandate only for the Federal Government and the Presidency to turn around to feast on the fabrications with threats against Atiku Abubakar.
“The PDP calls on Nigerians to take copious note of threats by the Presidency through the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, to jail Atiku Abubakar based on trumped up allegations, while describing him as “one who is lucky to be walking free”.
“Nigerians now know who to hold responsible should any harm come to Atiku Abubakar, his family or any member of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) in the course of the pursuit of the mandate at the tribunal.
“Moreover, it is instructive to state that the PDP and Atiku Abubakar do not need any foreign lobby group to prove our case before the tribunal as Nigerians themselves have been at the forefront of this pursuit, especially with our overwhelming evidence before the court.
“The PDP therefore cautions the APC-led Federal Government to allow the tribunal to judiciously carry out its responsibilities without let or hindrance as well as stop their unrelenting plots to overheat the system and derail the course of justice as such will all come to naught,” the statement added.