Ahead of the All Progressives Congress rlly which will kickoff on Monday, 21January 2019 in Akwa Ibom, the peoples Democratic Party PDP in the State has alleged that the APC during the flag off has planned to frame up PDP key leaders in the state so as to arrest and detain them throughout the campaign period.
The Chairman of PDP in the state, Obong Paul Ekpo in a press statement made available to journalists in Uyo on Sunday added that APC planned to execute such plot by getting busses branded as PDP busses with state government number plates and loaded with arms.
He said those busses would invade the venue of the APC rally, which would make the security operatives to accost the busses, arrest the occupants of the busses and the occupants would confess that they were being sent by PDP leaders to disrupt the APC rally.
He further alleged that thereafter, those top PDP leaders so named by the hired criminals would be arrested and prosecuted under the anti-terrorism Act.
The statement read in part, “We have received credible intelligence that on Monday, 21st January, 2019 or on any other day during APC rallies, buses branded as PDP buses or vehicles bearing state government number plates, will be loaded with arms and occupied by some criminals, heading to the venue of the APC rally.
“On approaching, the buses and their occupants will be arrested and the contents of the buses displayed for all to see as a major security breakthrough. Additionally, the criminals will mention some PDP top shots as their financiers, necessitating their arrest and subsequent prosecution under the anti-terrorism Act.This plot which is hatched and sponsored by the opposition APC is aimed at arresting and incarcerating our key leaders
and keeping them away from circulation throughout the elections.
“This is, to say the least, very crude, anachronistic and antediluvian, signaling APCs imminent defeat at the approaching polls.
“We have stated before and will reiterate now that, we are a peace loving party, operating within the ambit of the law. Our leaders who are currently being targeted by the opposition, are innocent Nigerians with proven
integrity. They do not engage in arms stockpiling, or procurement of violence in any form. It is therefore very unfortunate that people who should be planning for elections, are rather hatching evil plans on how to
arrest people.”
The PDP Chairman also alleged that recently, their supporters have been unjustly arrested and incarcerated noting that no amount of threat can cow them.
According to him, “In the past few weeks, the leadership of the party, has been inundated with calls from different parts of the state, where our supporters have been
wantonly arrested and incarcerated, without any lawful justification. In Essien Udim, scores of our youths and elders have been arrested on trumped up charges of defacing or destroying posters belonging to the President.
“In Nsit Atai, our supporters were slammed with grave charges, just to cause the court to deny them bail. In Nsit Ibom, one of our supporters was stabbed by
a member of the opposition in front of the DPO, and till date the assailant has not been pulled in for question or arrested. In Ikot Abasi, people who are our supporters who refused to support their brother were mercilessly beaten and harassed. Even Journalists and various press men sympathetic to our cause are daily harassed and intimidated.
“We can assure the opposition, that no amount of arrest and intimidation will bend the will of the people. The greater the opposition, the more resolute the will of the people will be to ensure their resounding failure.
Our people will vote their choice and defend their votes.”
He however said that PDP on no account would send anybody to attempt to disrupt rallies or meetings of any other political party calling on the security agencies to note the intelligence and act swiftly.
In a reaction, the APC publicity Secretary in the state Hon. Nkereuwem Eyongekere described the allegation as a product of hallucination and paranoia of the PDP.
Eyongkere further said that such claim was fabricated by PDP members including the chairman in order to fleece out money from the governor.
His words, “upon further investigations, we understand that this so-called intelligence report was fabricated by some PDP members (Paul Ekpo in the know) to fleece the governor. Udom Emmanuel has been susceptible to all manner of fraudulent plots designed by clever PDP members to swindle him of money.
“In fact, Akwa Ibom State government is now a helpless victim of various sting operations and machinations of fifth columnists in which the governor is ripped off ceaselessly, week after week. We are not therefore surprised that Paul Ekpo has joined the rank. His arms-in-the-bus-tale is just one in the series of Sherlock Holmes’ stories sold to an unsuspecting governor earlier in the week for a huge sum of money.”
He however stated categorically that the APC in Akwa Ibom State has never, and will never be involved in trumped charges against the PDP, its members and officials, and indeed any person.
“We are a responsible and reputable Party with a huge membership and support poised to win the national and state elections. We have no reasons or justifications for manipulations of any sort. We do not sympathize with the PDP, a political party that has in the last 16 years been boasting of its might and prowess, calling itself
a religion in Akwa Ibom State’, but now wailing and lamenting about its misfortunes, and at the same time, concocting James Hadley Chase stories to curry sympathies and defraud the government. There will always be a day of reckoning.” He said.
