Uche Secondus, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said the federal government was deploying the police and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the PDP-controlled states to cripple the governors.
Secondus also accused the federal government and the All Progressive Congress (APC) of injecting crisis in states controlled by the PDP and forcing governors on the party’s platform to a deal ahead of the 2019 polls.
In a statement signed by his media adviser, Ike Abonyi on Wednesday, the opposition leader alleged that the federal government had entered into an agreement with the EFCC and the police to cripple PDP states and ensure they lose focus on the 2019 elections.
He said the move which is aimed at causing severe and disabling damage to these states is part of the grand design to distract the PDP from its “focused journey to reclaim power and rescue this country from the inept rule of the APC”.
He singled out Bayelsa state that had eight police commissioners in three years as well as Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states where the police leadership in the states have been changed randomly.
“In most PDP states despite the governors being the statutory chief security officers, police commissioners have set up parallel structures to undermine the security of the states just to satisfy their pay masters,” he said.
“They have resolved to inject crisis in PDP-controlled states and ensure that our governors who are refusing to play ball are permanently distracted for their re elections. They have deployed huge cash in these states to either use labour or state legislators to inject crisis, frighten the governors and force them to do a deal with them.”
He alleged that anti-graft agencies have been “co-opted into this nefarious project” to make it look as if it is its anti- corruption programme.
Accusing Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the EFCC, of being deeply involved in the reelection campaign of Buhari, Secondus wondered why the commission had not gone after Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, over the controversial videos of him allegedly receiving bribe.
“Nigerians should ask the EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu who is busy campaigning for President Muhammedu Buhari and wearing his campaign badge why only PDP governors are on their radar,” he said.
“Nigerians should ask EFCC why they are looking away on what happened in Kano that everybody watched, if Governor Ibrahim Ganduje had been a PDP would EFCC have kept mum?
“Nigerians should find out why is it that only PDP Finance Commissioners are visitors to EFCC while their APC counterparts where corruption is obvious are glorified.
“Only PDP governors are performing and carrying out people oriented projects across the country as can be witnessed by all but they are the only one being harassed by Magu and his team.
“We are aware on good authority that Magu has vowed to make the re- election of President Buhari his personal project even if Nigerians appear to have turned their back on them.”