The Federal Government has, through the Federal Capital Development Authority, marked the national secretariat of the New Peoples Democratic Party at the Maitama District in Abuja for demolition.
Inscriptions on the wall and the gate of
the building on 4, Oyi River Crescent, show that it was marked on
October 11, 2013.
Our correspondent, who visited the area
on Monday, noticed that an agency of the FCDA, Development Control,
used red ink to inscribe the demolition notice on the wall and the gate
of the building.
However, an Armoured Personnel Carrier,
hitherto stationed close to the building and a Police Monitoring
van have been removed.
Only a riot policeman was seen moving round the area when our correspondent visited.
However, the FCDA has unsealed the Adamawa State Governor’s Lodge, where the New PDP relocated after its Oyi River Crescent office was sealed off by the police.
Investigations by our correspondent showed that the FCDA took the action when the New PDP
said it had accepted the ruling of a Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja,which on Friday ordered it to stop using the name, PDP, in its
activities.
The lodge is located on Katsina Ala Street in Maitama District of Abuja.
It was sealed off two weeks ago by the FCDA on the grounds that the New PDP was using it for political activities, an action it said was against the approval granted for the building of the lodge.
A private security man, who spoke with
our correspondent at the lodge, said that policemen drafted to the
building left last weekend.
“The policemen stopped coming since
Thursday last week and we don’t know why they stopped coming. But we
have not seen them since then,” he said.
Five riot policemen were drafted to the
building by the FCDA in a move aimed at stopping the faction of the PDP
from using the building for its meetings.
Speaking on the plan to demolish the secretariat, the spokesperson for the New PDP, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, said it was an attempt by the Minister of the FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed, to satisfy his paymaster.
He also said the minister was determined to weaken the opposition, an action he said would fail.
Eze said, “This will show the level of
desperation which the PDP officials and the FCT Minister want to use
to attack and kill opposition in the country. But it will fail. It
can’t weaken us. “What is the reason for the move to demolish a
building that has its plan and other documentation that are intact,
including the certificate of occupancy. This is nothing but desperation.
“But it is expected. A government that
has no value for the rule of law can go to any extent to perpetrate any
evil. We wait to see what would happen next.”
Perhaps, in order to weaken the opposition, the Federal Government started using the FCDA to threaten the members of the New PDP some weeks ago.
The FCT administration had revoked the
Certificate of Occupancy of a building belonging to Alhaji Rabiu
Kwakwanso, one of the seven governors behind the New PDP.
An event centre, A-Park, owned by Sen.
Aisha Al-Hassan, a staunch member of the faction has also been
marked for demolition.
The event centre is located near the OAU Quarters in Maitama District.
A former Governor of Gombe State, Sen.
Danjuma Goje, had his security details withdrawn for allegedly
showing support to the PDP faction.
The security details of a former
Governor of Kwara State, Sen. Bukoka Saraki, who is also a member of
the faction, were withdrawn by the Police authorities.
Saraki is also being investigated by the Special Fraud Unit, an arm of the Police, over alleged bonds he took while in office.
It was also gathered that the Police in
Bayelsa State had declared the chairman of the faction in the state,
Chief Richard Kpodo, and secretary, Sivi Godswill, wanted.
Apart from them, other high ranking
members of the party in the state were said to have been declared wanted
for allegedly belonging to a political party alien to the Independent
National Electoral Commission.
PUNCH
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