Opposition Peoples Democratic Party says the President Muhammadu Buhari is known for overthrowing democratically elected governments.
It also described the allegation by the Presidency that some Nigerians were plotting a forceful and undemocratic change of leadership, as a resort to blackmail in the face of failure.
In a statement on Tuesday signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said that the Buhari government and the ruling All Progressives Congress should live up to the responsibilities of office rather than “engage in frivolous allegations against Nigerians”.
The statement was titled, ‘You’re Haunted By Your Own Shadows, PDP Tells Buhari Presidency, APC’.
It partly read, “It is however imperative to state that the Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress are being haunted by their own shadows as Nigerians know the persons as well as the political party with the history and penchant to scuttle democratically elected government.
“Perhaps, the Presidency has forgotten that in 1983, Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari, as he was then known, led a military coup to truncate a democratically elected government thereby causing our nation a huge drawback on democratic governance.
“Also, in 2015, the APC, which was hurriedly formulated, made itself available as a vehicle of brigandage to disrupt our political process by beguiling Nigerians and taking power through violence, propaganda and falsehood.
“Even in 2019, Nigerians will be quick to remember how the APC imported bandits, vandals and thugs from neighboring countries, as political mercenaries, to unleash violence, disrupt our voting processes and muscle itself to power.
“The PDP therefore counsels the Buhari Presidency and the APC to look inwards as all fingers toward any possible plots to upturn our democracy point to them.
“Our party believes that the statement by the Buhari Presidency is an attempt by the APC to heighten political tension in our country ahead of the 2023 election, having realized that they cannot face the people at the polls.”
The PDP, however, advised the APC to know that such blackmail against Nigerians cannot help their cause.
“For us in the PDP, our party will remain undeterred, alongside other patriotic Nigerians, in our commitment towards the sustenance and stability of our democracy as well as the unity and corporate existence of our country, Nigeria,” the party added.