The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of being “too obsessed” with the ruling party instead of fixing their own problems.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka made this comment on Friday during an interview on Arise Morning Show Programme, adding that the PDP and ADC “spend all their time talking about the APC” rather than telling Nigerians why anyone should support them.
“I listened to the two spokespersons for the PDP and the ADC. I was expecting them to bring evidence that the APC is doing something wrong. Instead, they spent all their time talking about us. They are too obsessed with the APC and we are not concerned about that,” he said.
He dismissed claims by the ADC that the ruling party was undermining democracy and destabilising the opposition stressing that defections from opposition parties especially PDP, was caused by their “failure to govern themselves.”
“A political party is a vehicle. When that vehicle becomes immobile, people will leave. That is their problem, not ours,” he said.
The ADC spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, had earlier, accused the APC of trying to weaken all opposition parties and creating fear ahead of the 2027 election staying that they had done everything to destabilise the PDP, Labour Party, SDP and even the ADC.
“You ended by saying 2027 appears to have been won and lost already, that is exactly the mindset APC wants to create that no matter what Nigerians do, APC will win anyway.
“What they want is a one-party state. They cannot give Nigerians good governance, so they want to leave Nigerians with no choice in 2027.” he said.
He compared APC’s tactics to what he described as heavy rigging during previous PDP controlled elections.
“You’ll recall that as recently as 2007, PDP controlled, I think, 31 states out of 36, leaving only maybe four states in the north and Lagos state. But you’ll recall that the election of 2027 still had to be heavily rigged.
“It was one of the most discredited election in Nigerian history. In 2011, it’s the same thing. Despite the overwhelming control that the PDP had across the country, they still had to massively rig those elections by popular reports. So what we are seeing is just a case of history repeating itself. We are not surprised.” he said.
He argued that governors defecting to the APC were motivated by personal vulnerability rather than genuine conviction.
According to him, they were not joining the party because of belief in its agenda but were seeking an easy way out as it takes courage and conviction for a sitting governor to remain in the opposition.
He also added that, while the APC may have won over most governors, the party had failed to gain the trust of ordinary Nigerians, noting that no amount of whitewashing could change the harsh realities Nigerians were facing.
Furthermore, he stated that attacks on ADC were deliberate as they (APC) keep bringing one obstacle or legal issue after another against the ADC.
He cited a few days ago when some people had gone to court to ask INEC to deregister ADC on funny grounds insisting that the ruling party was pushing Nigeria towards a one-party state and the greatest threat to Nigerian democracy.
“They intervene in Benin Republic to restore democracy, but at home they use the judiciary to undermine it.” he said.
On his part, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, also rejected claims that his party was in disarray. He also said those claiming to have removed the PDP acting chairman had no authority.
“If you ask that gentleman on what authority he convened a meeting to sack Damagum, it falls flat. The organs of the party are intact. The staff, the state chairmen, the BOT all of them are with the KTT,” he said.
He explained that the real problem within the party was that some expelled members had “openly said they will support the president in 2027,” which, he argued, was the root of the crisis.
However, he said the party is rebuilding and if they (expelled members of the PDP) think they are powerful, they should form a new party and take it to the polls.
