The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday, urged the anti-graft agencies to probe the strategy meeting organized by the Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar with some of the party’s leaders in Dubai, just as the PDP described the call as defeatist and a clear sign that they are already scared ahead of the 2019 electoral contest.
Disclosing this to newsmen, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Yekini Nabena opined that, “There is more to the meeting that meets the eye. Nigeria has enough meeting/conference rooms, many of which meet international standards.
“It is therefore clear that the Dubai meeting was for other sinister political purposes ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“Our intelligence, anti-graft and security agencies must be awake to its responsibility of investigating the Dubai meeting.
“Cash-and-carry politicians must be prevented from moving illicit cash around to induce voters and sponsor election violence and rigging.
“Another round of election is here and it is not unlikely that they are playing a repeat performance, under the guise of holding a meeting in Dubai. Our security agencies should be on the watch for a stitch in time saves nine.”
But, in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said “APC is panicking over our strategy meetings because it did not only fail to deliver on the promises it made in the past, but is also completely bereft of ideas required to solve the problems it caused, even as it knows that it cannot drive our country in this 21st century.
“Is it not ludicrous that the APC has become so disoriented that it is now issuing statements about the venue of our meetings which does not offend any section of our laws, and for which it has now rented itself to lies and spurious allegations?
“By its statement, the APC has demonstrated its confusion, lack of organization and tact to manage itself and the responsibilities of governance; the very reason our country has been in dire strait since the last three and half years of the Buhari administration.
“Moreover, the APC and its Presidential candidate, President Buhari are entangled in enough personal and collective crisis and we counsel them to face their problems instead of dabbling into the issue of venue for our meetings.
“If President Buhari and the APC had sat down to draw up strategies for governance, our nation would not be facing the economic, social and security woes that have brought her to its knees in the last three and half years.
“The PDP and our Presidential candidate will therefore not allow a dysfunctional and rejected party like the APC to distract us from our partnership with Nigerians in the all-important mission to remove the incompetent administration of President Buhari,” the statement read in part.
