PDP ACCUSES APC-LED GOVERNMENT OF USING STATE INSTITUTIONS TO REPRESS OPPOSITION

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government of deploying state institutions as repressive tools against growing political opposition against the government of President Bola Tinubu. The PDP is responding to the arrest of former Sokoto State Governor and leader of the opposition in Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal.

In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Hassan Sahabi Sanyinnawal, the PDP described the arrest as a continuation of the assault on political dissent in the country. Sanyinnawal said the selective and discriminatory manner the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) conducts its activities clearly proves the desperation of the APC-led government to cling to power against growing national rejection.

“The motive of the trumped-up probe is obvious to the people of Sokoto State, who testify to the fiscal discipline and financial prudence of the Tambuwal eight years administration as Governor, especially those who served in his government,” Sanyinnawal said. He added that the so-called investigation is a mere fishing trip at the instance of political actors within the state and Abuja, who have been obsessed with smearing Tambuwal’s enviable image and intimidating him into abandoning his opposition to their misrule.

Sanyinnawal also noted that it is common knowledge in many quarters in Sokoto State that the current issue being touted by the anti-corruption body is an old phantom that has repeatedly hit the brick wall. “The matter is therefore, being raised from the dead by desperate political forces, who themselves have genuine corruption case files gathering dust at the EFCC that are ignored for obvious partisan reasons,” he said.

The PDP shares the confidence of the people of Sokoto State in the unblemished credibility of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and trust in his ethical and moral uprightness cannot be shaken by trumped-up probes. Sanyinnawal appealed to the teeming supporters of the party and members of the opposition movement in the state to remain law-abiding and steadfast in the demand for and work for change towards genuine democracy and good governance in the state and Nigeria as a whole.