EKITI: Democracy under attack in Nigeria, PDP cries out

The Peoples Democratic Party has reacted to the attack on Governor Ayodele Fayose by alleged armed policemen on Wednesday.

The party’s National Working Committee (NEC) at a press conference on Wednesday following the development in Ekiti said that Nigeria has finally come under heavy attack.

“You will recall that the PDP had earlier alerted that President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) are on self-succession cruise to turn our nation into a fascist state,” the party said.

It will be recalled how a factional national chairman, of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, had allegedly boasted that they were going to crush the opposition.

“Today, the siege has began. The situation in Ekiti State has reinforced the signpost of a manifest desire by the APC and its leaders to subdue the resilient spirit of Nigerians and set up a totalitarian regime in our country.

“This morning, in its desperation to forcefully take over Ekiti State, the APC-led Federal Government deployed armed police personnel led by one Compol Mopol Echel Echel, who blocked the Ekiti State Government House, attacked and placed the democratically elected governor of Ekiti State, Governor Ayodele Fayose, under house arrest. At the moment, no one goes in or out of the government house”, the PDP said.

It added that the invading police squad sacked the official security at the Government House, fired sporadically into the premises during which Governor Fayose was beaten up by policemen and brought down by volleys of teargas while several others were injured.

It said, “This, we have been informed, is part of the ‘order from above’, in line with the earlier boast by the Buhari-led APC, to ‘cage’ Governor Fayose ahead of the July 14, 2018 Ekiti governorship election, so as to grant their agents a field day to rig the election.

“In fact, we have been made aware that the invasion was a plot to assassinate Governor Fayose and blame it on accidental discharge by one of the policemen.

“The PDP marks this siege on an elected governor and a government house as a recipe for violence; a complete attack on our democratic order and direct assault on the corporate existence of Ekiti and her people as a federating part of our nation.

“We know that this is part of the desperate effort by the APC-led Federal Government to intimidate, subjugate, frighten and overawe the people and unleash a rigging mechanism for the election.

READ ALSO: Fayose appears in neck-brace, narrates ordeal in hands of police

“Information available to the PDP reveals that part of the rigging design includes the deploying of an APC state governor in each of the local government areas across the state to coordinate the plot.

“We also know that the APC rally on Tuesday, which was boycotted by the people of Ekiti State, was a gimmick to import thugs from neigbouring states. Our supporters, who have been placed at red alert have been monitoring all strange faces already milling around in various local government areas in the state.

“Also our intelligence reveals that the 30,000 policemen as well as some compromised military personnel deployed to Ekiti state are being positioned to embark on mass arrest and harassment of Ekiti citizens with the view to frightening them and preventing them from participating in the election.”

Ekiti governorship election will hold on Saturday July, 14.

 

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