•Olumide Akpata and Peter Obi
A chieftain of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Peter Obi, has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) government after an attack by suspected gunmen.
Gunmen suspected to be political thugs attacked some chieftains of the ADC at the residence of the erstwhile APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, in Benin City, Edo State, reports Channels TV.
The incident was said to have occurred shortly after the chieftains returned from the ADC secretariat, where they formally welcomed Olumide Akpata into the party.
Reacting to the incident, Obi described the attack as an assault on democracy. He vowed to take up the matter with the relevant authorities to bring to book the perpetrators of the incident.
“We will make a formal complaint, and I assure you that this cannot continue,” Obi told the party members in Benin City.
“We have a country, and we are part of the country. We cannot have terrorists terrorising the country and have officials in government terrorising citizens. It is unacceptable.”
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, also accused the APC-led Federal government of tampering with the nation’s democracy.
He specifically claimed, without providing evidence, that the current administration was destroying democracy.
According to him, more Nigerians are now in poverty under the APC government, a situation that has necessitated the ADC to rescue the nation.
“Those who claimed yesterday to be democratic are now destroying our democracy. All of us have come together to save our democracy for tomorrow because we cannot continue in this direction.
“The APC government, as of today, has killed governance, our democracy, the legislature, and the judiciary. Similar situation with our economy.
“We have more people today living in poverty. The highest rate of growth of people living in poverty was within the past two years,” he added.
Akpata, ADC Condemn Incident
Olumide Akpata, a former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate for Edo, but now a member of the ADC, also condemned the incident.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the incident, saying it is a “disturbing development”.
“Let it be clearly understood: violence and intimidation are the weapons of those who fear the will of the people. Such actions stain our democracy and must be condemned by all who believe in freedom,” the party’s spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, said in a statement yesterday.
“The ADC will neither bow nor retreat. We will stand firm, speak without fear, and continue the peaceful struggle for a Nigeria where the opposition is not punished, and every citizen is free.”
