The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed that the opposition party will not succumb to intimidation ahead of its planned campaign kickoff in Sokoto State on Wednesday.
At an emergency press conference at his residence in Abuja,
Atiku insisted that despite the alleged intimidation and frustration, his rally
would hold in Sokoto as scheduled.
According to him, he would be in Sokoto to lead the campaign
rally despite the alleged attempts to intimidate the party by President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
"What is unfolding in Sokoto is not ordinary political
competition. It is a calculated campaign to frustrate the African Democratic
Congress, obstruct our campaign and deny Nigerians the freedom to choose.
"Public facilities that should be available to every
political party for legitimate campaign activities have been blocked.
Logistical support has been withheld. These are not harmless administrative
delays. They are deliberate attempts to deny the ADC a level playing field.
"More disturbing still, the information available to us
is that the leadership of the Department of State Services is recruiting people
to stage protests in Sokoto. The objective is to create disorder, give the
APC-controlled state government a pretext to impose a curfew and prevent our
campaign kickoff from holding as scheduled.
"We know where some of these protesters are assembled:
an office behind Zenith Bank on Koko Road. Trucks are stationed there and
dispatched to key points, including the roundabout. These mobilised protesters
are causing gridlock. Commuters are being threatened and, in some cases,
beaten. Some of the protesters have moved away from the roundabout to find
shade.
"This is not intelligence work. It is political
interference dressed in official uniform. Security agencies exist to protect
Nigerians and uphold the law, not to recruit protesters or help a political
party manufacture a crisis. I call on every officer involved to stop
immediately and return to the constitutional duty of impartial service.
"For three and a half years, the Tinubu administration
has devoted too much energy to weakening credible opposition and too little to
solving the problems facing Nigerians. It has pursued a politics of absorption
and intimidation, while drawing former opposition figures into the APC and
narrowing the space for political competition. The aim is to reduce Nigeria to
a one-party state in all but name.
"The government is afraid of the people's verdict. It
has unleashed a crushing cost-of-living crisis and now appears determined to
frustrate Nigerians' democratic right to choose a different path. Food,
transport, fuel, electricity and other essentials have become unaffordable for
millions. Families are struggling to feed their children, pay school fees and
keep their businesses alive. That is the record this government should be
defending before the people, instead of trying to stop a rally.
"The APC has still not recovered from the abysmal
failure of its last rally in Kaduna. It should have taken that as a warning
that Nigerians are withdrawing their confidence. We will not be intimidated
into silence or irrelevance. Our campaign will proceed, and I will be in Sokoto
tomorrow, God willing, to address the good people of the state.
"I call on the people of Sokoto to remain calm and
peaceful. Do not allow anyone to provoke you or turn a political gathering into
a security crisis. I also urge the security agencies to protect commuters,
residents and rally participants without favour. The authorities must ensure
that our rally can hold peacefully and without interference.
"To the voters of Nigeria, remain resolute. Stand your
ground. Democratic freedom is not a gift from any government. It is your right.
Do not allow anyone to intimidate you or checkmate your will.
"The ADC will stand with officers who refuse to be used
against democracy and who remain faithful to the Constitution. Those who choose
to betray their duty and collude in the suppression of political freedom will
be held accountable under the law.
"Nigeria belongs to its people, not to any party or
temporary occupant of power. We will defend that truth and the people's right
to choose," he said.
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