The Presidency has insisted that President Bola Tinubu is not attempting to make Nigeria a one-party state.
It also accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of making “wild and libellous allegations” against Tinubu and the judiciary.
The PDP and Atiku Abubakar questioned the integrity of the judiciary following recent court judgments that sacked some governors of the party and others across a few states.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, these allegations arise in the context of the PDP’s poor performance in recent appeal court rulings regarding the election of some of its governors.
“The PDP and former Vice President and his spokesman have become overtly desperate to hang their woes on President Tinubu and the judiciary,” Onanuga remarked in a signed statement late Monday, titled, ‘PDP, Atiku raising false alarm.’
Onanuga emphasised that the PDP and Atiku have neglected introspection, instead choosing to blame external forces for their electoral shortcomings.
He dismissed the PDP’s claims that Tinubu, during his tenure as the Lagos State Governor, suppressed opposition and compromised the judiciary, further accusing them of attempting to destabilise Nigeria’s political landscape.
“While we do not hold brief for the judiciary, we urge Nigerians to discountenance the malicious allegations by the PDP and its candidate that President Tinubu as governor of Lagos, silenced the opposition and corrupted the judiciary and that he is planning to foist a one-party state on the country by appointing “loyalists” as Resident Electoral Commissioners.
“President Tinubu is a Democrat to the core. We make bold to say that as president, he has not interfered with the judgment of the judiciary,” said Onanuga.
