Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised security agencies to monitor the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday, Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, said it was important to put the candidate and his party on the watchlist due to the alleged plot by the APC to frustrate the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

He said the APC is also blackmailing “critical election stakeholders to accede to its design to postpone the 2023 elections, particularly the February 25, 2023, Presidential election.”

PDP said following the charge given to the APC supporters by Tinubu in London that power was not served a la carte, the party had alerted the nation of “a well-oiled plot by the APC to orchestrate security situation and promote circumstances to warrant the postponement of the 2023 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

The PDP is therefore demanding that “Security agencies should place APC leaders on a watchlist and take urgent steps to halt APC’s implementation of Tinubu’s directives to his party members, as contained in the recently leaked video, to deploy violence and underhand dealings in the 2023 general elections.”

The PDP spokesman warned that, “Nigerians are ready for the election and will not accept any postponement of elections under any guise whatsoever. Nigerians are not ready to continue with a hopelessly corrupt, miserably incompetent, and viciously insensitive political party, the APC, which has mortgaged the future of our country with an accumulated N77 trillion debt as revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

“This explains why the APC and its presidential candidate continue to promote and encourage violence in various parts of our country including attacking INEC facilities.”

PDP confused, has nothing tangible to tell Nigerians, APC fires back

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential Candidate Campaign Council (PCC) has alleged that the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is confused and lacks tangible things to tell Nigerians in their campaigns.

Reacting to allegations by the PDP that APC stalwarts were responsible for plots to postpone the coming elections and that they should be placed on the watchlist, Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council said for “lack of nothing tangible to tell Nigerians six weeks to a general election, PDP has resorted to making irresponsible statements just to fill the media space.”

Onanuga said: “Nigerians are advised to ignore this senseless conjecture from PDP as there is no iota of truth in the allegation.

“The electoral umpire has made it abundantly clear of its readiness to conduct the elections and these elections will hold as scheduled in February and March this year.

“President Muhammadu Buhari who has given this country the most credible elections both regular and off-season since 2015 has consistently assured Nigerians, even up to two days ago that 2023 elections will hold.

“Knowing that it has no path to victory and no real agenda for development to sell to Nigerians by its absentee presidential candidate, PDP has nothing profitable again to engage in other than raising false alarms, manufacturing outright lies, and disseminating innuendos to deceive the public.”