The Presidency has condemned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over recent allegations against the judiciary and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mr. Atiku said in a statement on Monday by his media adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe, that just like in Lagos when Mr. Tinubu was governor, the president is now using a series of tactics to weaken the opposition and turn the country into a one-party state. He said it is expanding.
He argued that the third branch of government had become “cash and carry” and accused the judiciary of becoming a tool in the hands of the ruling party.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement that Atiku and the PDP violated the integrity of the judiciary and made wild and defamatory allegations against the president.
“The PDP and the former vice president and his spokesperson are blatantly desperate to impose their anguish on a key branch of the Nigerian government: President Tinubu and the judiciary,” Onanuga said.
Mr. Onanuga pointed out that when Mr. Atiku and the PDP accused others, they failed to prove whether they had done their own introspection before making their accusations public.
Onanuga refuted one of Atiku’s claims, saying the president had no intention of imposing a one-party state as advocated by Atiku and the PDP.
According to him, these allegations are intentionally aimed at unnecessarily heating up national politics and causing disillusionment within the country.
He added that the allegations exist only in the imagination of the PDP and the former Vice President.
Onanuga also questioned Atiku’s silence in an earlier court case in which the judiciary ruled against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and alleged election theft that Atiku confessed to in 2003 regarding the South West. Also mentioned.
He said; “In 2019, on the eve of Bayelsa Governor-elect David Ryan’s swearing-in, when the Supreme Court handed down APC’s victory to Governor Diri, the PDP candidate who had been rejected earlier, Atiku and Where was the PDP? With the votes of the people of Bayelsa?
“Thereafter, Atiku and the PDP savored all these trophies handed to them by the court as a sweet victory for the PDP and hailed the court as the guardian of democracy.
“Now, the party is confusing the judiciary and President Tinubu as the same court is nullifying the PDP’s victory based on blatant law violations by the lawless party.”
Mr Onanuga, however, called on Mr Atiku and the PDP to stop their “smear campaign” against the judiciary.
The Presidential Spokesman urged Mr. Atiku and the PDP to respect the legal process, saying the verdict was based on law and evidence, not emotion and emotion.
“It is irresponsible and a disservice to our country that the rebels failed to abide by the letter and spirit of the law, and then now turn around and seek to dismantle a vital branch of our government.” he added.
Source: guardian.ng