The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Sunday said the intimidation of the running mate of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and a former presidential aide, Doyin Okupe, by agents of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government would not save President Muhammadu Buhari and the party from electoral defeat in 2019.

The opposition party claimed that the government agents are deliberately targeting those who are expected to play strategic roles for it  ahead of the elections.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, said this in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

He was reacting to the alleged freezing of Obi’s bank accounts and the move by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arrest Okupe on Saturday in Lagos.

Ologbondiyan said no amount of harassment and persecution from the government could deter members of the PDP and Nigerians from voting out the APC administration next year.

He said the move to arrest Okupe and other forms of harassment by the present administration should be resisted by Nigerians.

He said, “This is becoming unbecoming and Nigerians should rise up against it. This spate of harassment and intimidation of our members by the Presidency worries us as a party and Nigerians are aware of it.

“It is building up daily and we are not comfortable with it. One thing is sure: Nigerians are hungry and are suffering under this government.

“No amount of intimidation and harassment from the ruling party can discourage Nigerians from voting out the President and his party in 2019.

“We will vote out the ruling party in 2019. We will vote out hunger and sufferings from the land next year. They can’t stop us.”

Also, Okupe has described the visit of the EFCC officials to his house in Lagos as a violation of his fundamental human right.

He said the visit was an attempt to cast him in bad light.

In a text message sent to our correspondent, the former presidential spokesman said intimidating opposition members ahead of the general elections was capable of truncating the nation’s democracy. – Punch

– Dec. 10, 2018 @ 8:05 GMT |