‘We can’t allow Buhari to be embarrassed’, says APC on deployment of Police to Secretariat

The Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe has said the top echelon of the party deployed men of the Nigeria Police to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, because it had an intelligence security report.

Addressing newsmen at the APC Secretariat on Monday, Akpanudoedehe said APC formed the national government and could not allow President Muhammadu Buhari to be embarrassed.

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The APC headquarters in Abuja was overwhelmed as officers loaded in over five patrol Hilux Vans arrived in the early hours of Monday and took over the party’s secretariat.

The Police team numbering about 30 were strategically positioned within the secretariat located in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja, without stopping vehicular movement or harassing passers-by.

The APC scribe said the deployment was to forestall any breakdown of law and order as well as protect the lives of party members and APC property.

“No one should take anything for granted; as little as rumour, we must have to put everything in place, even the one that is not verifiable; just rumour we must put it in place because we cannot be embarrassed.

“So what we consider to be a threat is not what you consider to be a threat. A mere word that you passed by, we would heighten it because we don’t want to be embarrassed.

“We always have police here, this is APC that produced the national government. We cannot embarrass the President, we cannot embarrass the government of APC, we cannot embarrass ourselves,” he said.

Asked whether Governor Mai Mala Buni’s position was being threatened as Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Sen Akpanudoedehe said, “How can the chairman position be threatened? No his position is not threatened, don’t carry rumour. Read the judgement of the supreme Court. The chairman is as firm as ever.”

“Whenever you read a security situation, Whenever you heard of security report that is privy to you, it is incumbent on our party to strengthen so that we can protect the lives and property of APC.

“APC cannot be embarrassed because this is a national government, therefore we take measures to forestall any happenings, we cannot underestimate security report, we cannot play down on it.

“We have a security report, we can’t take laws into our hands, you can’t expect us to call thugs to defend the national secretariat. The right thing to do is to inform the Police and the SSS,” he added.