PDP hints that it may boycott 2019 polls if APC rigs Ekiti State governorship elections

NIGERIA'S main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has hinted that it may boycott next year's general elections if there are signs that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will rig the polls.

 

In February, Nigeria will hold elections and up for grabs are the presidency, governorships and parliamentary seats, with the PDP and APC set for a head-on clash. Later this month, the two parties will have a trial; run in Ekiti State when the state gubernatorial elections take place and battle for this is already very tense.

 

PDP chairman Prince Uche Secondus, has warned that the 2019 general elections may not hold if the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State is rigged. Speaking in Abuja at the party secretariat while hosting, the Forum of PDP Local Government Chairmen who had paid him a courtesy visit, Prince Secondus said the election must be free, fair and credible.

 

He said the PDP would do everything within the law to win the 2019 presidential election to save Nigerians from the APC-inflicted hardship. At the meeting, Prince Secondus charged members of the forum to work hard to reposition the party in their respective domains, just as he assured them that the party under his stewardship was committed to free, fair and credible polls.

 

Prince Secondus said:  “It is no longer business as usual at Wadata as the party has decentralised power to the grassroots to strengthen it in readiness for the 2019 polls. To guard against corrupting party officials in the future, the National Working Committee would not assign hungry people on its assignments at whatever level.

 

“We have warned them not to rig the Ekiti governorship election because there will be a crisis and there may be no election in 2019 if Ekiti election is rigged. We won’t post persons who are hungry on party’s assignments or people who are looking for money and w have resolved here at Wadata that no one can change positions or names of people that have won elections."

 

In addition, Prince Secondus further charged party members to use every legitimate channel to expose the failings of the APC, stressing that come 2019, the concerted efforts of all critical stakeholders of the party would help bring the APC down. While noting that the PDP was not against the fight against corruption, Prince Secondus tasked the Department of State Services to immediately charge a former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, to court instead of keeping him in its custody.

 

“You cannot detain a man and not take him to court. The government must release Suswam as soon as possible,” he added.

 

Kabiru Bello Dan-Dogo, the chairman of the forum, lauded the leadership style of the PDP chairman and promised to mobilise grassroot support to wrest power from the ruling party in 2019. President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that he will stand for re-election as the APC candidate, while the PDP is yet to hold its primary election to decide on its flagbearer.

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