The Social Democratic Party, SDP, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, led Federal Government administration of plotting to frustrate its Presidential Primaries to pick its candidate for the 2019 elections with new stringent conditions for the usage of the Eagle Square, Abuja, the proposed venue of the Party’s National Convention.
This is coming just as the Party tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law the Electoral Act submitted before him by the National Assembly as a matter of urgency to enhance the smooth conduct of the 2019 general elections
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja at a one day capacity building for the State Chairmen, Legal Advisers and State Organising Secretaries of the Party on processing of relevant documents for its Candidates from the Independent National Electoral Committee, INEC, the National Secretary of the Party, Alhaji Sheu Musa Gabam stated that the Management of the popular Eagle Square, which supposed to be the symbol of democracy in Nigeria gave the Party new stringent Conditions to be met before they could be allowed to use the arena for the Convention.
According to him, ” this is very strange to us, when we first approached the Management of the Eagle Square to pay for the Venue for our National Convention, they told us to go and approach the Police for Police clearance
” We wrote to the Nigeria Police Force, Federal Capital Territory Command, and after weeks of delay, the Police gave us the clearance and when we brought the letter to them for us to pay, alas, they again said that we still have to write to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to seek for his permission to make use of the arena.
”This again we have done now over two weeks ago, we have are yet to hear from them and our National Convention is fast approaching, this is very bad, the Area belongs to all Nigerians irrespective of political affiliations,”.
On the Electoral law amendment before the President, he stated that the Honorable thing for Buhari was to sign it into law without further delay, saying it would be a shame for the Country of over solid 20 years of democracy to still be using the one designed by the outgone Military regime to conduct elections in 2019
“The National Assembly has done its own, it is now left for the Executive to do its aspect by signing it into law for the nation to have a free, fair and credible election unless there is a hidden agenda somewhere not open to the public. “.
Speaking on the workshop, he said that this became necessary to enable the Party officials familiar with all the needed data about Party Candidates in the elections by the INEC to avoid last minutes disqualification of its Candidates.
On the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State, he stated that he was confident that the SDP would be victorious at the poll based on its general acceptability by the People of the State and its Candidate as well.
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