INEC can’t stop our NEC meeting fixed for June 30 – PDP

Main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, on Sunday, said the Independent National Electoral Commission cannot stop its forthcoming National Executive Committee meeting.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said at a press conference in Abuja that preparations for the meeting had reached advanced stage.

Recall that recently, INEC, in a letter to the PDP complained that its notice of NEC meeting was not in order because it was not signed by the National Chairman and National Secretary.

Ologunagba, however, said INEC’s Acting Secretary, Halilu Aminu, who signed the letter, was only trying to assist the ruling All Progressives Congress to perpetrate its one-party state mission.

He said by Nigerian law and the PDP constitution, INEC’s role is limited to being notified about conventions, congresses, or primaries where party officers or candidates are to be elected or a merger is expected to take place.

He also warned that President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC should not to see the recent spate of defections into the ruling party as a sign of victory, vowing that the President will only serve one term.

The PDP spokesman said, “INEC cannot cancel our meetings. It is the party’s prerogative to decide such matters. INEC has no authority to do so. We are planning to hold our meeting as scheduled, if anything changes we will brief you.

“We did not state that the meeting was for electing officers, conducting primaries, or nominating candidates for elective positions. Yet, the Acting Secretary of INEC, Halilu Aminu, decided to unilaterally assign a purpose to our meeting.”

On the recent defections, Ologunagba said, “What will be on the ballot is the Nigerian people. The good thing is that Nigerian people are not defecting. You know why? Because they can’t defect to hunger. They cannot defect to insecurity. They can’t defect to life-discounting experiences on a daily basis. They cannot defect to the fact that the disunity of the country is expanding on a daily basis.

“You are in a country where you are buying an aircraft of 360 billion Naira, when people can’t send their kids to school. When they can’t go to hospital.

“APC should know that President Tinubu is a one-term president. With what’s happening in this country today, those are recipes for one term.

“Because people are dying. People cannot feed. They can’t send their kids to school. They cannot even buy their medication. People are dying by instalment on a daily basis. And if you don’t change that, that is what is called one-term president.”