APC seeks to frustrate Jonathan’s Kwara visit – PDP

    
The Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday said members of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State were making attempts to frustrate the rally and the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan  and other PDP national leaders to the state on Monday.

A former PDP acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bode Ojomu  during a media briefing in Ilorin said APC members were panicky about Jonathan’s visit.

But the Kwara State Interim Secretary of APC, Mr. Yemi Afolayan said the allegations of PDP were baseless and untrue.

Ojomu, a member of Kwara State PDP Publicity Committee on Presidential Rally, stated that the call by APC that Jonathan should shelve his visit  because of terrorists’ activities in  Yobe State was uncalled for.

He added that though they were unhappy at the killings of students and civilians in Yobe State, that should not be enough reason for government activities to be paralysed elsewhere.

He called on the residents of the state to come out en-masse and receive Jonathan and other PDP national leaders.

“The catalogue of panicky measures taken by the Kwara State Government, its agency and APC state chapters  include using APC posters to cover PDP posters and cutting down PDP bill boards are all known. PDP State Chairman had warned that any further vandalism of Mr. President’s billboard shall be treated as treason.

“Several other booby-traps to frustrate the rally for Monday also include threat to burn down the PDP secretariat, treat to life of our commissioned  lead artiste for the rally, Saheed Osupa, who now pleads with PDP to refund money paid for his appearance on Monday.

“To deny our members from easy transportation, the Government suddenly woke up to an empowerment programme for Road Transport Workers Union on that same Monday,”Ojomu said.

Afolayan in a telephone interview with our correspondent said APC was not planning to frustrate Jonathan’s visit.  He added that the state government graciously allowed PDP to use the state’s Metropolitan Square for the rally.

He stated that APC was not planning to burn down PDP’s secretary.  According to him, the empowerment programme of the state government for transporters had already been planned and was merely a coincidence.

“All the allegations of PDP against APC are baseless, unfounded and has no iota of truth.  We are not opposed to the visit of Mr. President. He is the president of the country and he can go anywhere he wants to go,” Afolayan said.