Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and the 11 governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will be storming Ekiti State for the governorship election campaign any time soon.
The 40-man Campaign Council inaugurated by the leadership of the party in Abuja on Monday, is chaired by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
Other members of the council include the party’s presidential aspirants like Ahmed Makarfi, Ibrahim Shekarau, Sule Lamido the party’s immediate past former governors and serving federal lawmakers.
While inaugurating the council, the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, said the All Progressives Congress has turned Ekiti State into a “war zone”.
He alleged that the APC was training a special killer squad to kill opponents and disperse rallies organised by the PDP in Ekiti, with the view to foisting a one-party-state.
Secondus said, “The motive of these deliberate police state being established by the ruling party is obvious; to distract and disorganise the opponent to enable them hold on to power and establish one party state.
The party chair further accused the APC administration of unnecessarily heating up the polity by resorting to what he described as devious means to undermine the democratic process.
The chairman continued, “The signs are there for all to see that the attitude of the ruling party is that of a drowning man desperate to survive and whose posture is ‘if I cannot make it, let me go down with others’
“Information available to us shows that in Ekiti, they are trying to use all skillful underhand means to achieve goals but the people are well charged to not only come out to cast their votes on July 14 but that they are ready to defend it.
“At this juncture, let me warn that if there is any attempt to thwart the will of the people in Ekiti state, there may be no general election and the entire democratic process will be endangered”.
He cautioned the APC against obstructing the will of the people, saying such moves could throw up negative consequences.
“I tried to let them know that Ekiti State shares in that history when the then second republic ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) attempted to use their federal controlled might to hijack power from the then Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) that was on ground in the old Ondo state for which Ekiti was part.
“Men of wisdom had long told us that the easy way to repeat history is to refuse to learn from it. I charge APC leadership to take time and read our political history and know that the route they are headed are akin to that of the NPN days if not worse”, Secondus said.
The party chairman called on the international community and all lovers of democracy to show more than passing interest in what is happening in different parts of the country.
Chairman of the campaign council, Governor Emmanuel, said the PDP would win Ekiti State because of the achievements of Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Emmanuel challenged his fellow governors in the APC to present their performance profile and to compare their achievements with their counterparts in the PDP.
“If the APC is hoping to use federal might to win Ekiti poll, the PDP has the people behind it”, Emmanuel said.
