By Emegwoako C. Paschal
The Peoples Democratic Party has stated that it will challenge the presidential candidacy of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, including his eligibility to contest the 2023 general elections, after he was allegedly indicted and sentenced to criminal forfeiture by a United States Court in Northern Illinois, Chicago.
This was revealed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, at a press conference held at the party’s Secretariat in Abuja on Sunday, November 13th.
According to Ologunagba, the APC presidential candidate is “ineligible to contest the February 2023 Presidential election after being reportedly indicted and subjected to a criminal forfeiture judgment for a narcotics-related offence by a United States Court in Northern Illinois.”
“However, Nigerians are appalled by the APC Presidential Campaign’s lame attempt, which, after admitting that there was a $460,000 drug money criminal forfeiture judgment against accounts traced to the APC Presidential Candidate, is now desperately attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of the Nigerian people and our democratic institutions.”
“Because it is technically out of the Presidential race, and because it will be unable to field candidates at all levels in the 2023 general elections due to its illegal and unconstitutional congresses, the APC has resorted to unleashing hoodlums to attack PDP Presidential Campaign rallies and other innocent Nigerians going about their legitimate endeavors, as witnessed in Kaduna and Borno States, in a bid to trigger crisis and scuttle the elections.”
According to Section 137 (1) (d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Asiwaju Tinubu is ineligible to run in the Nigerian presidential election.
He emphasized that the US Court “Ordered that the funds in the amount of $460,000 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu represent proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1956 and 1957, and thus these funds are forfeited to the United States pursuant to 21 U.S.C. S881(a)(6) and 18 U.S.C. S981.”
However, the APC Presidential Campaign Council has blamed the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party for funding fake news against Tinubu in an attempt to disqualify him.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the PCC’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, urged the police to investigate the circulation of the forged INEC statement and bring those responsible to justice.
“Having realized they have no sure path to victory in the February 2023 presidential election, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and its subsidiary Labour Party upped their campaign of calumny, disinformation, and misinformation on Saturday by sponsoring fake news against the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
“They did it by forging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s letterhead and the signature of its national commissioner, Festus Okoye.” The forged INEC statement was disseminated to deceive the gullible public into believing that INEC was investigating allegations against Asiwaju Tinubu, which they hoped would eventually lead to the disqualification of the frontline APC presidential candidate.
“This ignominious path has been taken before, since 2003, in the run-up to the ruling APC primaries, which produced Asiwaju Tinubu as the presidential torch bearer.” Those who chose this damned path to infamy lost their bet because Asiwaju Tinubu is rock solid and unbreakable.”
