The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has told the camp of the President-elect that its agenda to threaten Nigerians to submission will not work as neither the people nor the party can be cowed.
Responding to a statement by Festus Keyamo, Director, Public Affairs of the President-elect, the National Publicity Secretary of the main opposition party, Debo Ologunagba, said on Saturday that Nigerians must be allowed to express themselves in a democracy as long as they do so peacefully.
Recall that in the statement titled, “Press Statement on planned protests by opposition parties: our silence is not cowardice,” Keyamo accused the opposition of truncating the inauguration of Tinubu as president.
“Enough is enough. Their continuous determination to dare us should cease immediately. We are not lacking in capabilities and capacities. Our silence should not be taken for cowardice,” he threatened.
However, the PDP spokesman has advised the ruling party to recognize that Nigeria is a democracy and not an autocracy with an emperor.
Ologunagba stated: “APC should recognize the fact that Nigerians cannot be cowed. Surely and clearly, PDP will not be cowed. “We are in a democracy, not in an autocracy. We are not in an empire where you have an emperor, and people have a right to express themselves in a democracy provided it’s peaceful.
“That’s what has believed in. We believe in the peaceful expression of views. I’ve not had the privilege of looking at that statement. But if I can latch with what you have said, it is consistent with the misfortune that has befallen this country in the last eight years where the government believe they can threaten people, they can force them and coerce them to submission.
“There have been cases before the tribunals and the issue is to challenge. It’s a process. INEC has made its declaration and we are saying those declarations are against…so, it is for the courts to, if they truly believe in the rule of law like we do, when people express their opinion, they should just allow the process to go through.
“Threatening people, if that’s the agenda or the plan, it is dead on arrival.
“And coming from that source, for me, what we try to do is to focus on what we are doing, follow the rule of law; we are in the court, we are processing it and INEC must be held accountable because it is a public institution that draws all the money from our taxes, they are responsible.
“For us as a party, we don’t want to be distracted by some comments that are probably lazy comments, out of frustration, out of the fact that you know you want to snatch something and run away with it and we are saying no, you can’t run with it.”
