Stop attacking Jonathan, PDP warns APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the caustic attacks that the opposition party has been directing at President Goodluck Jonathan.

Describing the actions of APC in that regard as a threat to the institutions of democracy and the unity of the nation, PDP said it would no longer “fold its hands” and allow such “unwarranted and sustained vicious attacks” go unchecked.

“The PDP has been watching carefully as the rank and file of the APC, the governors, party leaders, presidential hopefuls and even sidekicks run amok, competing in a heavily subjective castigation of President Goodluck Jonathan with incendiary utterances,” Olisa Metuh, the party’s national publicity secretary said in a statement on Tuesday.

“However, patriotism, the cardinal value of our great party, indeed, the price of our custodianship of the mandate of over 160 million Nigerians calls for vigilance, maturity and responsibility, hence our restraints in the face of the naked lies and recklessness of the APC.

“We had thought that the silver hair of its top leaders would caution the thoughtless delinquency of its youngsters. Unfortunately, the recklessness of the old is in competition with the imprudence of the young. What a shame the APC has turned!

“Our decent political campaigns focusing on the achievements of our party at various levels of government should have served as a pointer to the APC on the need to maintain political decorum and primacy of national interest in the build-up to the forthcoming elections.

“It is however unfortunate that the APC has refused to shed its penchant for lies, deceit, propaganda, violence and blackmail as the center piece of their agenda and message to Nigerians.

“This disposition has led the APC to work in cahoots with the enemies of Nigeria in an attempt to wreck our democracy and throw the nation into chaos, hence the urgency of the need to warn that ‘enough is now enough.”

PDP further alleged that APC is attempting to plunge the country into violence ahead of the forthcoming election.

“We know that the aim of the APC is to set the stage for violence, instill fear in Nigerians, discourage them from actively participating in the electoral process thereby giving room for them to perpetrate all manners of electoral malpractices (as evidenced by their cloning of the Permanent Voters Cards) which is the only way they may hope to achieve political power in Nigeria,” the statement read.

“This position is reinforced by their constant threat to cause violent pandemonium when they lose the elections.

“One must then ask. Is violence and inflammatory statements the manifesto of the APC? Is plotting against the oneness of the nation the party’s article of faith? Is the never-ending attempt to ridicule the highest office in the land a credo and an explanation of the alternative the APC is flaunting?”