Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has carpeted the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) over the violence in Osun State, stating that the ruling party believes that election is war and blood is the price for power.
In a statement by National Publicity Secretary, Interim National Working Committee (INWC), Ini Ememobong, the party said, ‘’Nigerians and, in fact, the entire civilised world, received with tremendous shock the statement made by Senator Francis Fadahunsi in a viral video where he said, ‘So, we have come to tell you, up till the day of the election, if we see them, it is killing.’
‘’This statement, though uncivilised and appalling, is not strange, coming from the All Progressives Congress, whose presidential candidate has been quoted to have said “Political power is not going to be served in a restaurant.
‘At all cost, fight for it, grab it, and run with it.’ and that ‘all is fair in politics’.
“These and many more hurtful rhetoric have been deployed by the ruling party unapologetically, and this has raised the political temperature of the country to unprecedented fever-pitch levels.”
PDP stated, ‘’Elections were not structured as a do-or-die contest but as an opportunity for the masses to freely choose their leaders. What Nigerians face instead is a ruling party that has normalised warlike rhetoric- intimidating the people, silencing the opposition, and working to impose a predetermined outcome on the electorate in 2027.
‘’To this end, we specifically demand a transparent investigation of the Senator Fadahunsi incident and other threats to peaceful and transparent elections in Osun State.”
The party added, ‘’Furthermore, the president, APC, and their officials should cease the deployment of anti-democratic narratives and threats, all in the name of political communication.
“Civility must take centre stage in our political communication, and the elections must be a true reflection of the will of the people, freely given through the ballot.”
Ememobong said that was the irreducible minimum, which the government and all political parties must adhere to, in the interest of democracy and the country.