.Wants President to sack Keyamo for using public office to intimidate govt agencies
.Atiku unfit to be president, his men have lost their minds — APC
By Tunde Opalana
The Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, protect the integrity of the Nigerian military as well as the sovereignty of the nation by summoning a meeting of the National Security Council over the establishment of a parallel Army (Jagaban Army) by the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is as the Directorate of Strategic Communications of the PDP presidential campaign council asked Buhari to sack the Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Festus Keyamo for abusing his office.
The Atiku/ Okowa campaign said there is urgent need for the President to convene National Security meeting if he is not ready to surrender the sovereignty of the country to a renegade group under the command of the APC presidential candidate.
Campaign spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan on Sunday alerted Nigerians since the exposed design by the APC and Tinubu to use a parallel Army, code-named the Jagaban Army, to undermine national security, affront the Nigeria Army, cause confusion, disrupt the 2023 elections and derail the democratic process, neither the APC Campaign or Asiwaju Tinubu have disowned the formation or its nefarious plans.
READ ALSO: PDP promises end to insecurity, pains inflicted by APC.
The campaign further alleged that the Jagaban Army is training and arming thugs with dangerous weapons in secret locations across the country ostensibly to use the illegal formation to undermine Nigerian security forces and unleash mayhem on Nigerians during the elections.
“Nigerians have been wondering how a political party or any candidate for that matter can create a parallel Army and adorned them with uniforms as well as ranks within a sovereign State as if Nigeria has become Asiwaju Tinubu’s fiefdom.
“Furthermore, Nigerians are alarmed that the APC Presidential Candidate went to London to declare war on our nation by openly charging his party cohorts to take power at all costs, only for him to return to the country to have his campaign set up a parallel Army to undermine our national security in order to achieve his malevolent designs.
“The expectation of Nigerians was that after Asiwaju Tinubu declared that “political power is not served in a restaurant, it is not served a la carte. It is what we are doing; It is being determined; you do it at all cost; fight for it, grab it, snatch it and run (away) with it”, the security authorities ought to have immediately taken him in for questioning for treasonable felony.
“This is not the first time that Asiwaju Tinubu has come out brazenly to undermine the sovereignty of our nation as well as the office and the person of President Muhammadu Buhari,” the statement read.
The Campaign recalled how Asiwaju Tinubu went to the Presidential Villa, undermine President Buhari by using the Presidential facility in the Seat of Power to announce his presidential interest. That, to say the least, was felonious.
Olognondiyan further said that Nigerians are also aware of “how the APC Presidential Candidate has arrogantly continued to disrespect, disparage and undermine the person of the President and how he had publicly mocked and depicted President Buhari as weak and weeping over losses in presidential elections until, according to him, he (Tinubu) came to his rescue and made him (Buhari) President.
“The import is that Asiwaju Tinubu, in his arrogance, believes that he cannot be subjected to President Buhari’s Constitutional powers and this accounts for his temerity to run a parallel Army; a treasonable act against the Office of the President and our national sovereignty.
“It is clear that Asiwaju Tinubu is desperate to be President, but with manifest signs of rejection by Nigerians, he is ready to cause bloodletting and destroy our democratic process.
“It is imperative to state that insurrectionary groups that unleashed mayhem and derailed democracy in many parts of the world all started with desperate power seekers who cannot gain office through democratic means.
“The fear across our country is that the APC Presidential Candidate is apparently following this dangerous path.”
The Campaign implored Asiwaju Tinubu to come to terms with the reality that Nigerians have made up their minds to elect the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as the next President of Nigeria, come February 25.
It, therefore, demanded that President Buhari should stamp his feet of authority and check Asiwaju Tinubu from sinking our nation into an abyss.
On the other hand, the Directorate of Strategic Communication of the PDP presidential campaign at a world press briefing in Abuja also yesterday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN for alleged abuse of his office as Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity.
The Directorate urged Bihari to ease out Keyamo from his cabinet for causing embarrassment to the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration by intimidating Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition PDP and using his cabinet office to bully and intimidate institutions of government.
Dr. Daniel Bwala a lawyer and one of the spokespersons of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation while addressing the media at a world press conference said the PDP found it ridiculous that Keyamo, a serving minister of APC government wrote a letter to agencies of the government who are the same members of the executive branch of government and demanded that in 72 hours they should prosecute a presidential candidate of PDP (Atiku Abubakar).
He condemned Keyamo for bragging about the powers and control of the APC over law enforcement agencies
Bwala said: “He, whilst serving as a cabinet member and campaign spokesman uses the tax payers’ money and official privilege and powers to heavily compromise the agencies of government.
“This is even coming amidst the widespread allegation of corruption involving the minister and the 52 billion naira approved to his ministry for empowerment of 774 LGA Nigerians.
“The National Assembly had called for investigation of how the project was executed and until now the issue has not been told too the Nigerian people.
Charging President Buhari not to overlook the embarrassment caused his government by Keyamo, the spokesperson said: “This singular conduct has brought the government of President Buhari to disrepute and threatening the legacy he said he will leave behind. It is believed now that President Buhari who recently was reported as saying cabinet members should focus on governance and not be involved in the campaign has since made a U-turn and task on his cabinet members to influence the agencies of government in favour of APC.
“Members of the opposition are reported to be increasingly invited by law enforcement for one question or the other in other to weaken the opposition.
“We call on the president to sack the minister of state for Labour and Employment forthwith for using official position funded by tax payer’s money to interfere with the conduct of a free, fair and credible elections.
“We also call on the president to read the riots act to agents of the government from inter fearing with this election. Any effort to intimidate opposition is an effort to interfere with the conduct of a peaceful elections.”
Bwala further alleged threat to lives of members of the opposition including himself, saying “there is increasing threats to our lives by members of All Progressives Congress who draw their strength from the declaration by the presidential candidate in London that members should at all cost grab, snatch and run with his mandate.
“Personally I fear for my life from the various threats I get from the candidate and his campaign. If anything happens to my life, the nation and international community should hold Tinubu and his campaign responsible,” he said
The campaign directorate promised to unearth an ongoing investigation of the attempt by APC to compromise the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which would be made available in the coming days.
Director of Strategic Communications, Chief Dele Momodu said the press conference was called to react to recent allegations and attacks by the media team of the APC presidential candidate.
Momodu said “when Bola Ahmed Tinubu let loose his attack dogs like Keyamo on the PDP presidential candidate, they should expect response in kind, which the party is doing with this world press conference”.
He said PDP lawyers are studying allegations made by one Michael Achimogu referred to by Barrister Keyamo upon which he has gone to court.
Phrank Shaibu on the other hand called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to make public outcome of its investigation on allegations raised against the APC presidential candidate,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu few years ago, by the former Managing Director of Alpha Beta company owned by Tinubu.
He said: “The petition involves massive corruption and misappropriation of funds belonging to the government of Lagos state, abuse of official office, conflict of interests.
“The said petition raised issues bordering on wide range of corruption allegations and we call on the EFCC to address the nation on their findings of the investigation which we believe is long overdue”.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has again described the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Atiku Abubakar, as unfit to be president.
The APC PCC was reacting to calls by Atiku’s spokespersons on the security agencies to arrest its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on drug-related allegations.
Describing the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) as copycats, Chief Spokesperson of the APC PCC and Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo SAN said the opposition party has only copied APC’s style.
The APC PCC had recently asked anti-graft agencies to arrest the PDP standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar over an illegal account, Special Purpose Vehicle SPV, he allegedly created as vice president between 1999 and 2007.
“I’m laughing: these PDP fellows are pathetic: I was told they copied our style and all their spin doctors held a joint conference. Copycats. Nothing new. All old, unproven stories against @officialABAT. What is gripping the nation now is the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV). #Atikugate”, Keyamo tweeted.
In a separate statement, Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity of the APC PCC said it was obvious that Atiku and the PDP are yet to recover from the bombshell released last week by the APC PCC, which questioned the morality of their candidate to remain in the race, “following his own damaging self-confession”.
“At the press conference we called on the security agencies to arrest, investigate and prosecute Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President for running Special Purpose Vehicles used to loot the treasury of the country, in what is now known as Atikugate”, said Onanuga.
He said since the scandal broke out, along with legal action to compel anti-graft agencies to perform their role, “Atiku and his party, PDP have laboured in vain to deflect and cover up with their series of ad hominem arguments”.
He said instead of Atiku apologizing to Nigerians for abusing his office and position of trust in the past, Atiku’s spokesmen continue to dig deeper into the hole they already found themselves in by raising many false allegations against Tinubu.
Part of the statement reads; “The latest chapter in Atiku and PDP’s comedy is the rehash of old tales and fables that have no basis in facts and reality against our candidate.
“Our stand remains that Atiku Abubakar lacks the character to be the president of Nigeria.
“He is unfit to lead our country because he can be an easy target for compromises that will be against national interest.
“Atiku in deeds and words has shown that he cannot be trusted to manage the resources of Nigeria.
“And we believe that the characters who still parade themselves as his spokespersons have lost their minds. This is why they think Nigerians can be swayed by all their deliberate falsehoods and the lies they manufacture everyday against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deceive the public, when they should all be remorseful for the legendary corruption of their boss”.
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