The Peoples Democratic Party has berated the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, over his claim that the ruling party offered N6 billion bribe money to some unnamed pastors to influence their members to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in the February 14 presidential election.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, accused the Rivers governor of lying.
Mr. Metuh, who stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, also accused the opposition All Progressives Congress of conniving with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disenfranchise non-indigenes in APC-controlled states, especially Lagos, by refusing to issue them their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.
Mr. Metuh said it was stunning that the APC was trying to drag religion into politics. He also described the claims by Mr. Amaechi as shocking and challenged him to name the pastors that benefitted from the alleged bribe as well as where the money came from.
“We are shocked that APC Campaign could impugn the character of Pastors and I dare say that this is ungodly; it is a sin against God. We challenge the DG of APC Campaign to state the facts; the pastors involved and where such huge sum of money can come from.
“This attack is capable of bringing Christians and Muslims into a major disagreement and major dispute. If truly the person who issued this state is a Catholic as he said, we are asking him to go for confession and seek God’s forgiveness”, he said.
The PDP spokesperson noted that the statement is a continuation of APC’s “Janjaweed ideology” to truncate democracy in Nigeria.
He pointed out that the APC has been seeking to create the impression that it was popular but now seek to cause mayhem after it became glaring that the PDP is ahead and that Mr. Jonathan will win the upcoming election.
On the plot to disenfranchise non-indigenes in APC controlled states, Metuh said this was because of the fact that 90 per cent non-indigenes in such states were supporters of the PDP. He alleged that in some states, particularly Lagos, the PVCs of non-indigenes were being burnt.
Mr. Metuh also dismissed insinuations that some PDP governors were secretly romancing the APC stressing that all PDP governors are loyal to the party and have been part of the nationwide presidential campaign rallies.