PDP Threatens To Pull Out Of Peace Accord Following Governor El-Rufai’s Body Bag Comment

PDP Threatens To Pull Out Of Peace Accord Following Governor El-Rufai’s Body Bag Comment

The Peoples Democratic Party has threatened to pull out of the 2019
general election Peace Accord folowing the body bag comment made by
Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai on NTA last night.

Governor El-Rufai during a live programme on NTA, said anyone who
will come into Nigeria to interfere in our politics might end up in a
body bag.

Following his comment, PDP has threatened to pull out of the peace accord. Read the party’s statement below

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after due consideration of
comments, threats and incendiary actions by the All Progressives
Congress (APC) and the Buhari Presidency, which are directly inimical to
a peaceful, free and fair election, the PDP is left with no option than
to consider a review of its signatory in the national peace accord, if
no action is immediately taken to curb this trend.

Nigerians are still in a shock over comments by the Governor of
Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, who declared on a national
television that members of the global democratic institutions that are
working for a peaceful election in Nigeria will return to their
countries in body bags. What a threat?

We call on the international community to immediately impose a travel
ban on el-Rufai for this inciting comment against peaceful elections in
our country.

Also of particular note is the plot to redeploy, a former Chief
Security Officer to APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, CP Kayode
Egbetokun, as Kwara state Commissioner of Police, where he has been
handed the instruction to incite the people, cause pandemonium and pave
the way for outright rigging in favour of President Buhari and all other
candidates on the platform of APC.

This is in line with plans by the Buhari Presidency and the APC to
effect a mass deployment of top security officers, particularly the
police, to intimidate, harass and manhandle Nigerians that will not
support the self-succession bid of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as
aiding APC thugs to snatch ballot boxes and orchestrate violence in the
elections.

Nigerians are aware of how CP Kayode Egbetokun was posted to Lagos
state by the disgraced former Inspector General of Police, Idris
Ibrahim, to serve the same partisan interest and how that posting was
stopped by the new IGP Adamu Mohammed. Now, he is being redeployed to
Kwara state for the same ignoble plot.

It is necessary to state that the PDP is a party of peace and we are
committed to the peace accord. However, the deployment of the Kayode
Egbetokun as Kwara CP directly negates the principle of the Peace Accord
and can only hurt the fragile peace that currently exists in Kwara
state.

We wish to remind the acting Inspector General, Adamu Mohammed that
his acceptability among Nigerians across party line was based on the
pedigree, which was presented to Nigerians before his appointment.

These pedigree and exposure place on his shoulders, the
responsibility to be just, firm, equitable and professional in the
discharge of his duties. We therefore urge him not to allow his
reputation to be mired in controversial political activities.

Very importantly, the PDP calls on the National Peace Committee to
note the infractions by the APC and its leaders to the peace accord,
including the provocative shut down of all the stadia in Kano state by
the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in order to frustrate the PDP
Presidential campaign rallies in the state.

We therefore call on the National Peace Committee to immediately
summon el-Rufai on his inflammatory remarks against peaceful election in
our country.

The PDP hold that any situation that seeks to allow the APC to abuse
the tenets of the accord will definitely force our party to review our
signatory to the peace process. In that regard, we might have no option
left than to allow our members to defend their votes with whatever that
is available to them.

This country belongs to all of us and no individual or group, no
matter how highly placed, can subjugate other citizens or seek to
appropriate any sort of absolutism to themselves.