ABUJA – The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on the nation’s security agencies to investigate the circumstances leading to the presence of politicians from Niger Republic at the All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential rally in Kano on Thursday.
This is even as the party expressed worry that the development could pave way for the possible influx of non-Nigerians into the country to illegally participate in the 2019 elections.
Addressing a press conference at the PDP Presidential campaign headquarters yesterday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said for a country battling to curtail insurgency, the influx of “mercenaries” into the country portend danger for the nation and her citizens.
“The PDP demands an urgent and thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the presence of politicians and thugs from Niger Republic at the APC presidential rally in Kano on Thursday.
“Our security agencies must immediately investigate and lay in the public domain the circumstances leading to their presence, which more or less confirms that the APC has lost all domestic credibility and has assumed a desperate mode.
“The APC and the Presidency must immediately explain the roles being played by Issa Moussa, Governor of Zinder and his counterpart from Maradi, Zakiri Umar both of the Niger Republic, who were sighted decked in the attires and official logos of the APC, in our political affairs,” the party stated, adding that “President Buhari and the APC, in their desperation have compromised our territorial integrity as a nation and this portends grave danger to our national security and the sanctity of our electoral process.
“For a nation contending with insurgency and banditry, the involvement of mercenaries from neighboring countries in the APC rally must be condemned by all and sundry. This is particularly against the backdrop of claims by President Buhari that killer herdsmen ravaging our nation are mercenaries who are infiltrating from the Sahel region.”
The publicity scribe said the party understood the weight of the submission by the National Security Adviser, NSA, Major General Babagana Mongunu (retd) when he stated recently that; “unscrupulous elements are already mobilising merchants of violence, including armed bandits and terrorists to orchestrate violence during the elections in several states of the federation,” even as it quoted Information Minister, Lai Mohammed as saying recently that “there is also an international dimension to the evil plan. Some armed mercenaries from the Niger Republic have been contracted to attack top government functionaries, including state governors, across the North-west between now and the elections.”
The PDP claimed also claimed that “miscreants who came from Niger Republic to President Buhari’s rally are being offered accommodation in our country by the APC to unleash violence immediately it is clear that President Buhari is losing in the February 16 presidential election.”
That said, the PDP described the visit of the governors from the neighbouring as capable of undermining the integrity of the election stressing that “the presence of the Niger Republic Governors at President Buhari’s rally signposts a direct assault on the credibility of the Presidential elections. This is particularly against the backdrop of INEC’s plans to allow Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in that country to vote in our election, a situation that opens the way for aliens to infiltrate as IDPs and participate in our elections.
“Our apprehensions are accentuated by INEC’s recent mass creation of additional polling units which have not been properly designated and which may be deployed for the perpetuation of monumental electoral fraud. We note how Kano State, in 2015, delivered 1.9 million votes to the APC presidential candidate in circumstances devoid of transparency and credulity.
“Moreover, the promise by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state to deliver five million votes to Presidential Buhari in the 2019 elections is predicated on the unfettered opening of our international borders to foreign political interests.”
The party called on Nigerians of voting age to troop out enmasse to elect its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the February 16 election in the interest of the nation.
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