'Internal crises consuming PDP, not APC' - Ruling party says

The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction had accused the APC of influencing the action.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 21, and signed by the ruling party's spokesman, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the APC said the police does not take instructions from the party.

The APC also refuted the claim by the PDP faction that it also influenced the recent Appeal Court judgment which affirmed that Ali Modu Sheriff remains the authentic National Chairman of the opposition party.

Abdullahi said the APC is not in any way interested in the affairs of the PDP, adding that the party is being consumed by its internal crisis.

The statement said: "Neither of these allegations is true in any respect. The Police themselves have explained why they stopped the Markarfi group from meeting at the ICC. If the factional PDP is dissatisfied with the Police explanation, they could seek further clarifications from the Police or pursue alternative means of redress.

"So far, the Makarfi group has not faulted the Police or provided any proof for its allegations against the APC, which we find quite surprising, considering that Makarfi and his group have in their ranks, individuals who are sufficiently experienced to know that without any evidence, such allegations could easily be dismissed as baseless and therefore be ignored by all right-thinking members of the public, including our party.

"The reason we have not simply ignored the wild allegations is because we are imperiled by utterances and conducts that attack the integrity and independence of our judicial system. Every Nigerians should be worried by the behaviour of the various PDPs which is capable of eroding the confidence Nigerians in our judicial system. Even as they battle themselves for survival, we urge restraint in the interest of our democracy."

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The APC, however, said it 'prays' that the PDP puts its house in order soon, acknowledging that democracy is better served when the opposition is alive.

It added that the PDP's first step to recovery would be to stop peddling conspiracy theories and blaming imaginary enemies for its setbacks.