APC Exposes Plot to Harass Party’s Financiers

Party sues for non-partisan security force

Onyebuchi Ezigbo The All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed concern over alleged plans by one of the security agencies, apparently acting at the behest of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, to harass and intimidate supposed sponsors of the party, as part of ongoing efforts to cripple its activities in the run up to the March 28 polls.

In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party however said the agency can only target phantom financiers, since the APC is, in reality, being financed by Nigerians, not some money bags.

‘’We made it clear earlier that our party, which has now become a people-driven movement, is being bankrolled by ordinary Nigerians, who have contributed generously to the party through the platforms that we published in the newspapers for all to see.

‘’Though the federal government has used some national institutions to stifle our party’s fund-raising efforts, Nigerians have utilised the available platforms to make their donations. It is therefore a futile exercise for anyone to harass some innocent people for supposedly financing the APC,’’ it said.

The APC said security agencies should only serve national, rather than partisan, interests, because while governments will always come and go, Nigeria as a country will remain.

‘’The information at our disposal about the role of the security agencies in the forthcoming elections is very disturbing, despite the public opprobrium that has greeted the role played by the military in rigging the 2014 Ekiti State governorship election.

‘’For example, there is a plan for at least 500 security agents to apply to work as ad hoc Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff so that they can rig for the Poeple Democratice Party (PDP,) while military and police uniforms are being sewn in a PDP-controlled state in the South-west, with a view to making them available for PDP thugs to wear on election day, in order to harass and intimidate the opposition

‘’There is also the disturbing case of four senior officers of the State Security Service (SSS) who are being retained for some ignoble role during the general election, even though they are already due for retirement. It is interesting that these officers, including three at the states and one at the headquarters of the SSS, are all from the South-east and the South-south geopolitical zones, which the Jonathan-led administration considers its stronghold.

‘’Equally disturbing is the fact that a section of the security services has been making sensitive information available to certain PDP members, including a loose-lipped state governor, just to get at the opposition. This is sad because Nigeria is bigger than any political party,’’ APC said.

It therefore appealed to the security agencies to be non-partisan, professional and patriotic in carrying out their duties before, during and after the general election.

‘’Put Nigeria first, don’t favour the PDP, don’t favour the APC, don’t favour any party,’’ the APC told the security agencies.