We Don’t Have Certificate Forgers As Members, PDP Replies APC …Accuses FG Of Plot To Gag Media, Free Speech

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, said it was not peopled by men who carry the burden of certificate forgery.
The party stated this in reaction to an earlier statement credited to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which described the main opposition party as dead.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s national headquarters, PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbindiyan, said: “Our party after a long overhaul has become the centre of seeking power and good governance in our nation.
“Our party, the PDP does not contain certificate forgers. It is not a party of people who are contrivers. Our party is relating directly with the Nigerian people and we are working assiduously to make sure that democratic tenets are not only entrenched in our nation but seen to be practised.
“We do not have space to respond to former democrats who went around the nation and brought in a despot into a democratic order.
“We do not have space to engage in verbal discussion with characters who are known to be pillaging and stealing from the patrimony of our nation.
“We are not going to concern ourselves with the innuendos that such characters are branding. All we know is that the PDP remains the bastion of democracy in our nation.
“The PDP is in the Supreme Court that the mandate of Nigerians which was peacefully given to Atiku Abubakar but which was stolen is restored to us”.
He also accused a cabal at the Presidency of being the brain behind the recent insinuation of alleged tenure elongation for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has again accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of plotting to gag the media, subjugate Nigerians and curtail their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.
This was contained in a statement issued, yesterday, by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan.
According to the statement, the decision by the government to impose stringent regulations on online media and broadcast organisations as recently announced by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, “is completely obnoxious, anti-democratic and a direct violation of statutory rules governing media practice and freedom of expression in Nigeria.”
The statement further read: “The PDP also rejects the Presidential declaration of political comments as ‘Class A’ offence, insisting that such is designed to undermine the nation’s constitutional democracy, exterminate the rights of citizens to dissenting public opinion, emasculate the opposition and foist a dictatorship and one-party system on our nation.
“Our party alerts that such moves amount to an attempt to amend our constitution to take away the rights of citizens and undermine our democratic institutions; a development that has the capacity to destabilize our dear nation.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that these dictatorial pathways which the Buhari Presidency seeks to impose if allowed, will herald the gradual emasculation of freedom of expression, repression of a free press, infringements on the rights of citizens and foisting of siege mentality on the people.
“Nigerians are already apprehensive that the directive is geared towards clearing the ground for the introduction of certain harsh policies in our country.
“The party insists that our constitution has made enough provisions to guide media practice as well as the exercise of freedom of expression, and foisting of unconstitutional and suppressive regulations is not acceptable under any guise.”
The party called on members of the National Assembly, as the representatives of the people, to reject this Presidential directive in the interest of our nation.
The information minister recently announced that henceforth any broadcast of information considered as hate speech would attract a fine of N5million.