“The party is not aware. He has not written the party to that effect,” PDP National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan told Daily Sun in a phone interview
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is not aware of alleged moves by former Akwa Ibom State governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, told Daily Sun, in a telephone interview yesterday that Akpabio, who is also the Senate Minority Leader, is yet to inform the party about his alleged plan to defect to the APC.
“The party is not aware. He has not written to the party to that effect,” Ologbondiyan said. Speculations have been rife about the planned defection of the former Akwa Ibom governor to the ruling party later this week.
This is coming as the PDP yesterday cautioned the federal government and the APC against any attempt to forcefully change the leadership of the Senate, stating that it would be a recipe for crisis and anarchy in the country.
The party while stating that Nigerians would resist any such forceful change of leadership in the senate, urged the international community to hold the federal government and the APC responsible if the country’s democracy is endangered in any way in the days ahead.
In a statement signed by Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said the warning is necessary, against the backdrop of an alleged plot by the APC and its agents to flood the National Assembly with armed plain clothed security operatives so as to compromise the security architecture to enable the forceful takeover of the leadership of the senate by minority APC senators.
There have been tension over alleged plans by APC senators to impeach Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, following Saraki’s defection to the PDP last Tuesday.
However, the opposition party warned that Nigeria as a country would not accept any assault on the legislature, which is her highest symbol as a democratic state.
Consequently, the PDP cautioned the APC and the Federal Government to steer clear of the National Assembly and the leadership of the senate as well as desist from acts that are capable of destabilising the country at this time.
“Nigerians would recall that we alerted the nation that the purported overseas vacation by President Muhammadu Buhari was to enable his cabal overrun the National Assembly in a manner reminiscent of the siege at the Benue State House of Assembly, so as to sack the current elected Senate leadership and install their stooges.
When this is done, the Buhari Presidency will in its characteristic response claim the ‘Mr President is unaware.’
“The laws of our nation regarding the sanctity and sovereignty of our legislature are clear and our citizens will never allow any person or group of persons, no matter the circumstances, undermine the constitutional integrity of the legislature as representatives of the people. Any attempt to tempt the will of the people in this direction is a clear recipe for very serious crisis,” the PDP stated.
It added that the laid down rules for reconvening the senate whenever it is on recess was clear and unambigious, and must be followed whenever it becomes compelling to reopen the senate on a date other than the earlier adjourned date.
According to the party, “in such a circumstance, Order 12(2) of the Senate Standing Rule (2015) clearly vest such powers and functions on Senate President, who shall give notice of such new date and time.
“Anything outside the provision of the law is a direct coup not only against the National Assembly but also on our entire democratic system.”
