Victor Ezeja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it was responsible for the attack on PDP supporters during a rally on Monday in Kaduna.
Prime Business Africa reports that some suspected political thugs had on Monday invaded the Ranchers Bees Stadium, venue of the PDP presidential campaign rally in Kaduna and attacked supporters.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPDP later issued a statement accusing APC of masterminding the attack. In a tweet on Monday night, PDP wrote, “The @OfficialPDPNig calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party men to order and ensure adequate security for a free and credible electoral process in our country.”
Reacting to the allegation, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Barr. Felix Morka in a statement on Wednesday, October 19 2022, said the ruling party had no hand in the attack and has no reason to be perturbed by the PDP rally in Kaduna. Morka said that PDP should however, blame itself for the unfortunate incident, adding that it was “self-inflicted.”
He alleged that what led to the chaos at the rally was a case of a rented crowd who got enraged on learning that the managers had disappeared with money meant for them.
“The PDP has no one but itself to blame for the violent incident at its rally in Kaduna. The incident was simply a matter of a rented crowd that went irate when the Party’s rent-a-crowd managers disappeared with funds meant to pay for the rented crowd.
“Rather than hold its head down in shame for the poor and distasteful showing at its Kaduna rally, the PDP seeks to scapegoat our Party for its own gross acts and misconduct.
“To be clear, the APC has no hand in the attack as irresponsibly alleged by the PDP. We have no reason to be perturbed by the rally,” Morka stated.
Morka further stated that the APC remains confident of victory being the largest political party in Africa, and “bolstered by the remarkable accomplishments of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration,” coupled with hope of a vibrant future led by its Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said that the party condemns all forms of violence in the activities or events of any political party, adding that every party is entitled to organise legitimate activities such as rallies in a peaceful and secure atmosphere with equal right of protection of the law and that perpetrators should be brought to justice.
He, however, insisted that the PDP acted wrongly by scheduling its rally same day other major political activities by the opposition party was billed to place such as the appearance of Tinubu at the Arewa House, an event Atiku had attended the previous day.
“If anything, it was the PDP that scheduled and conducted its rally in Kaduna on the same day that our candidate was scheduled to make an appearance at the Arewa Dialogue before which the PDP Candidate made an appearance the Saturday prior.
“A mature and well governed campaign would have avoided that apparent conflict of having two major events take place in the same city on the same day. Having made their pitch at the dialogue, it was only fair that our Candidate be allowed to do the same. But such civil gesture is uncharacteristic of the PDP,” Morka stated.
He said APC remains committed to consolidation of democracy in the country and as such, would do everything possible to ensure free and fair election as the government has exhibited through massive reforms of the electoral process leading to successful conduct of credible polls in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States within the last one year.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Vs Atiku Underbelly Fight For Aso Rock Gets Messier
The party called on security agencies to probe the Kaduna unfortunate incident “with a view to unmasking and prosecuting the culprits behind it.”
APC also urged all political parties to engage in issue-based campaigns, adding that every political stakeholder owes the country the duty of ensuring a violence-free electioneering process.
“We urge security agencies to probe the unfortunate Kaduna incident with a view to unmasking and prosecuting the culprits behind it. It is imperative that political parties eschew violence and play strictly by the rules of engagement, going forward.
“We enjoin all parties and candidates to subscribe to issue-based campaigns and observe applicable ethical standards and best practices. We owe Nigerians a duty to ensure a violence-free and peaceful electioneering process ahead of the 2023 general election,” Morka added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
