According to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Tinubu Campaign is taking fresh action as part of a larger scheme to halt the general elections in 2023 and jeopardize Nigeria's democracy.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) members in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be used by the Tinubu Presidential Campaign to cause unrest in the nation and prevent the elections from taking place, according to a statement from the PDP's spokesman, Hon. Debo Ologunagba.
“There is credible intelligence of how the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, allegedly directed his cronies in the APC leadership of both Houses of the National Assembly to reconvene Plenary and use the Legislative Chambers as platforms to promote incendiary speeches with the view to overheating the polity and making it appear unconducive to conduct elections in the country.
“This is in furtherance of the alleged scheme by the APC Presidential Campaign to use all means, including APC leadership of the National Assembly, to orchestrate security situations that will justify its reported demands to postpone elections as a prelude to the derailment of the electoral process, having realised that it has no chance in the polls.
“Our Party has been made aware of a deceptive design by the APC leadership in both Chambers of the National Assembly to reconvene Plenary under the guise of being concerned about the hardship faced by Nigerians due to the scarcity of new Naira notes induced and aggravated by the exposed sinister diversion of new Naira notes by the Tinubu Campaign.
“Further information indicates that the Tinubu Presidential Campaign, which is reportedly intercepting new Naira notes for vote-buying purposes, has also directed the APC leadership in the National Assembly to use their Legislative instruments to pressure and compromise financial institutions to succumb to their cash diversion agenda.
“Nigerians can now note the real motive behind the recent statement credited to the APC leadership of the National Assembly where it attempted to justify its plan to reconvene the National Assembly at this time.
“If indeed the APC leadership of both Chambers of the National Assembly are concerned about the biting cash scarcity, we challenge them to publicly condemn the reported plot by APC leaders and its Presidential Campaign to clandestinely swap a whopping N22.5 billion in old N1000 notes for new ones in Kano and Lagos States for vote buying.
“We also challenge the APC leadership of the National Assembly to commence an investigation into the N22.5 billion fraudulent cash swap report if indeed it is concerned about the suffering and anguish Nigerians are facing in accessing the new Naira notes.
“It is instructive to note that the Tinubu Campaign has not denied the reported criminal N22.5 billion cash swap for vote buying. Instead, it has resorted to insults and weak claims to get people’s attention,” the party said in part of its statement.
The PDP told the APC Presidential Candidate to “end his resort to underhand dealings,” especially this attempt to get the National Assembly to do what he wants. “He should quit the race since he has nothing to offer, instead of seeking to truncate our electoral process.”
The PDP says that Nigerians have already decided to vote for their presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, “who genuinely stands with the people and embodies the collective hope and aspiration of Nigerians in the mission to rescue our nation from the misrule of the deceptive, insensitive, corrupt and rudderless APC.”