The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the chances of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) retaining power in the 2019 general elections have vanished.
The party also said it believed that the alleged moves to arrest the media adviser to former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, over Babangida’s declaration that PresidentMuhammadu Buhari should not seek re-election in 2019, was a ploy to set the table for a "vicious muzzling" of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech.
The PDP in a statement on Tuesday by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said the police and other security agencies should not allow themselves to be used by the "sinking APC as instruments of persecution against Nigerians perceived to be unsupportive of the unpopular re-election bid of President Muhammodu Buhari."
The opposition party said,"Recent distasteful events including unwarranted harassment of perceived opponents of the APC, supposed and actual presidential hopefuls as well as opposition members, show that the APC has now gone into jittery mode, having realized that its chances of winning the 2019 general election has already vanished.
"We now have a terrifying situation where people are harassed for daring to aspire for certain elective offices or even express opinion regarding governance in the country.
"Nigerians and the international community have seen that almost all those who have openly expressed, or perceived to be nursing ambition for certain offices, including the presidency, are now facing one trumped up charge or the other, ostensibly meant to cow and discredit them.
"The point is that the APC has refused to wake up to the reality of the fact that Nigerians have already reached a consensus rejecting them and that no amount of threats, intimidation and persecution with state apparatus of power can subjugate or make them change that determined resolve to vote out APC and its candidates come 2019.
"We therefore call on all well-meaning Nigerians to caution the APC. The fact that the APC is leaving office in 2019 has become inevitable and no one should be part of their desperation to completely ruin our nation before their exit."
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