Atiku’s rally disruption wrong, self-inflicted – APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress on Wednesday said the disruption of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s rally in Kaduna was an unfortunate incident that could have been averted if the PDP had followed the right protocol.Information Guide Nigeria

This is because the APC claimed the interruption was self-inflicted, citing a report that the organisers of the “rented crowd” who attended in huge numbers for Atiku Abubakar’s PDP event “stole” the campaign funds.

Monday’s huge gathering for the PDP presidential campaign descended into chaos as thugs unleashed chaos on the party’s supporters at the site.

According to The PUNCH, the intruders entered Ranchers Bees Stadium armed with sticks and machetes and began hitting the crowd, leaving several injured.

Three coordinated assaults were launched against the venue before security personnel were able to resist the criminals.

Atiku criticised the incident, claiming that the attacks on his supporters in Zamfara and Kaduna Areas, which resulted in the death of a PDP member, were direct attempts to suppress his lawful campaigning in those states.

Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, stated in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday that the PDP was responsible for the attack.

Morka noted that the ugliness that transpired at the gathering in Kaduna was regretfully self-inflicted but nonetheless wrong.

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He said that the APC abhors and condemns any types of violence and intervention in the operations or events of any political party.

According to him, all parties are entitled to equal protection under the law, and perpetrators of disruptive and other violent acts must be brought to justice.

The statement partly read, “However, the PDP has no one but itself to blame for the violent incident at its rally in Kaduna. The incident was simply a matter of a rented crowd that went irate when the Party’s rent-a-crowd managers disappeared with funds meant to pay for the rented crowd.

“Rather than hold its head down in shame for the poor and distasteful showing at its Kaduna rally, the PDP seeks to scapegoat our Party for its own gross acts and misconduct.

“To be clear, the APC has no hand in the attack as irresponsibly alleged by the PDP. We have no reason to be perturbed by the rally.”

As Africa’s largest political party, bolstered by the achievements of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.), and with a bright future lead by their Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the APC cannot be intimidated by any political party, according to Morka.

In addition, he criticised the PDP for arranging and holding its rally in Kaduna on the same day Tinubu was due to participate at the Arewa Dialogue.

According to him, a mature and well-managed campaign would have prevented the apparent clash of two huge events occurring on the same day in the same city.

“Having made their pitch at the dialogue, it was only fair that our candidate be allowed to do the same. But such civil gesture is uncharacteristic of the PDP.

“Given the credible, free and fair elections that the APC-led administration superintended in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States, there is no iota of doubt that our party remains committed to the highest levels of civility, transparency and respect for the rule of law in its political engagements. That this government also midwived the massive reform of the Electoral Act, and introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) speaks volume to its commitment to democratic consolidation in our country.

“We urge security agencies to probe the unfortunate Kaduna incident with a view to unmasking and prosecuting the culprits behind it.Jamb Result

“It is imperative that political parties eschew violence and play strictly by the rules of engagement, going forward. We enjoin all parties and candidates to subscribe to issue-based campaigns and observe applicable ethical standards and best practices. We owe Nigerians a duty to ensure a violence-free and peaceful electioneering process ahead of the 2023 general election,” he said.

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