The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday tasked the Governor of Rivers State and the Director General of All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, to mention the names of the pastors whom he claimed the PDP offered N6 billion gratifications to help President Goodluck Jonathan win the forthcoming presidential election slated for February 14.
The PDP, while describing Amaechi’s claim as false, also challenged him to reveal the identities of the eight PDP governors that are holding talks with the APC and its presidential flag bearer, General Muhammadu Buhari, with a view to joining the opposition party.
The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, threw the challenge at a press conference he addressed on Wednesday in Abuja.
Metuh, who expressed surprise that the APC is trying to bring religion into politics, declared that the DG of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, as a Christian, needs to seek God’s forgiveness for the sin he has committed.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary said, “Pastors are revered people and to bring their character into disrepute is a sin before God. We do not think anybody, not to talk of somebody who is a Christian, can make such statement.
Metuh said: “We challenge the Director General of APC Campaign Organisation to name the concerned pastors and where the money is coming from.
“This attack is capable of bringing Christians and Muslims into a major disagreement and major dispute.
“If truly the person who issued this statement is a Catholic as he said, we are asking him to go for confession.”
The PDP spokesperson also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of conniving with APC to deny non-indigenes in Lagos and some APC controlled states of Permanent Voter Cards.
Metuh said the anomaly has been reported to INEC, adding that in some states the PVCs of non-indigenes were burnt.
According to him: “This has never happened before, but we don’t know why the APC are doing such.
“May be because we have credible presidential candidate and may be because we have a formidable gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, who they are afraid of.
“We have the records and we are asking the non-indigenes involved that if by FridayINEC still does not give them their PVCs, we will take decisive action.
“We know that 90 per cent of these non-indigenes are supporters of PDP.
“This is part of the APC janjaweed ideology to truncate democracy in this country.
“The APC have been saying they were on top of the election, but now that it is obvious that PDP is on top, that President Goodluck Jonathan will win the election, they have resorted to causing mayhem.”
Metuh also denied that some PDP governors were trying to defect to APC, arguing that the PDP governors have been part of the nationwide presidential campaigns.
He said: “If they think our governors do not have integrity, we challenge them to name the person.
“However, we are aware that the DG of the APC campaign drove himself to see the governor of Jigawa State.
“Maybe he went to discuss how to come back.
“If he re-traces his steps, along with his colleagues and apologises, we take them back.”