Feth Chioma 
The All Progressive Congress (APC) has reacted to a statement made by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over the presence of governors from Niger Republic at the party’s rally in Kano state on the 31st of January, 2019.
PDP had accused APC for hiring and bringing mercenaries from Niger to cause violence as soon as President Buhari is perceived to be losing the presidential election.
“The PDP demands an urgent and thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the presence of politicians and thugs from Niger Republic at the APC presidential rally in Kano in Thursday“, the party said.
The party called on Nigerian security agencies to to begin an immediate investigation and expose to the public the circumstances behind the appearance of governors from Niger Republic. They argued that APC has lost all domestic credibility and are therefore desperate.
” The APC and the Presidency must explain the roles played by Issa Moussa, governor of Zinder, and his counterpart from Maradi, Zakiri Umar, both from Niger Republic who are sighted decked in the attires and official logos of the APC, in our political affairs”.
“For a nation contending with insurgency and banditry, the involvement of mercenaries from neighbouring countries in the APC rally must be condemned by all and sundry. The is particularly against the backdrop of claims by President Buhari that killer herdsmen ravaging our nation are mercenaries who are infiltrating from the Sahel Region”.
The PDP stressed that this is a breach on Nigeria’s territorial integrity and that it poses great danger to the nation’s security and electoral process.
Garba Shehu and The Buhari Phenomenon
APC Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, has responded to the allegations leveled against APC by the PDP.
He said that candidates for political offices in other African states want to be associated with President Buhari. He made this statement know on Twitter on the 2nd of February, 2019.
” What we want @OfficialPDPNig to know, there is a Buhari phenomenon sweeping across the entire continent. Candidates for national leadership I’m each country are doing whatever they can to understand the Buhari phenomenon, to copy it, to institute it. That’s why people from the African continent…when they had the presidential election in Ghana, there was a candidate who branded himself the Buhari of Ghana. When they had presidenti election in Chad last year, there was a Buhari of Chad. They had printed posters with their pictures with Buhari side by side”.
Garba Shehu argued that there was no problem if neighbours from Niger come to witness how Buhari is doing his politics.
“Nigeria has been gifted with an honest leader, a man endowed with rare qualities and people are trying to copy that”, he said.
He described the statement made by PDP as jealousy and panic.
“So it’s jealousy…It should worry PDP that nobody is coming across the border to understudy PDP”
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