With an appeal by the presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, awaiting determination at the Supreme Court, his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have intensified the fight to assert their credibility before Nigerians.
The Spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, fired the first round in a write-up dubbed “Nigeria’s opposition is missing,” where he claimed: “The opposition is close to reneging completely on the compact it holds with the voters.” This, according to Shehu, amounts to “dereliction of duty.”
He said rather than “scrutinise” the business of governance and “hold the government to account,” the opposition has busied itself with fake news and the pursuit of legal redress, which he termed “lawfare.”
Atiku and PDP recently filed a 66-ground appeal at the apex court, following the verdict by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld Buhari’s victory in the February 23 presidential poll.
“The opposition’s over-excretions are leaving a mess for the elected government to clean up,” Shehu lamented, affirming: “Last week, they opened their next salvo in lawfare by taking they are the exact same, fatally flawed case to Nigeria’s Supreme Court. We must sincerely hope the opposition has the wherewithal to appreciate they will fail once more, given the facts and the math remain the same.”
APC spokesman, Lanre Issa-Onilu, jumped into the fray, declaring: “As a party that believes in democracy and progressive politics, we cannot pretend any longer. Democracy cannot be said to be fully operational in a situation where the supposed ‘main’ opposition party, PDP, has become a joke, irresponsible and rudderless.”
Issa-Onilu, in a statement, said: “There is a lot to gain by our democracy and our country in an atmosphere of robust engagement by responsible and patriotic opposition. The political system we practise has important roles for the political parties outside of power. The system envisaged that such parties would provide alternative viewpoints and put the governing party on its toes.
“Instead, the PDP and their minions have in the name of opposition continued to distract the government and Nigerians with their post-election delusions, salacious fictions, conjured rifts in government circle and, of course, the lowest of it all, the pathetic and senseless Jubril of Sudan malicious tale, among other fake news. Tragic!
The Guardian
