The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the European Union (EU) that a potential crisis from manipulating the upcoming Edo State gubernatorial election could lead to a mass exodus of Nigerians across the Sahara Desert into Europe.
It urged the Union, which has a working relationship with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to intervene with the commission, the federal government, and other relevant stakeholders, including security agencies, to ensure that the will of the people is respected in the election.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, relayed this position to the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, highlighting the party’s concern about the consequences of manipulating the election, stating that people will respond to such circumstances.
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He said: “The slogan is we don’t look for trouble. When you bring trouble, we don’t run. That shows there’s serious consequences for that. President Tinubu should just weigh in. The European Union should weigh in.
“The consequences of a manipulated or a failed election that will result in crisis in Edo State can have a monumental effect on our democracy, particularly when it comes to the issue of how we treat that democracy.
“If we don’t and God forbid there’s a crisis in Nigeria, a one million refugee movement from Lagos State alone to Benin Republic will destroy Europe.
Other countries will be destroyed and there will be an influx of people moving in through North Africa into Europe.”
Citing historical examples of mass exoduses due to internal crises, Ologunagba urged the EU to advocate for a free, fair, and credible election in Edo State to prevent any negative outcomes.
He added: “So, Europe should stop it now. They should have a strategic interest in Nigeria because of the population. They have a strategic interest in migration. In one day, 10 million will move and the whole of the West African subregion will be destabilized. And that will have great consequences not only for Africa but indeed, the world, particularly Europe because of the influx of human beings.
“So, the European Union who has been a partner in democracy and INEC should immediately do something now and say to them – the police, the federal government, INEC – to just allow the election to be free, fair and credible and everybody will be fine.”
Ologunagba also denied claims that the National Working Committee (NWC) has endorsed the recently conducted party congresses in Rivers State, pointing out that they were held despite several court orders.
He explained that there are processes for conducting party congresses, including setting up committees and appeal panels to address complaints.
He said: “More importantly, the PDP is a party of law and order. We believe in the rule of law. What we do is the fact that when there are court processes, when there are court injunctions or rulings, we strive strenuously to respect court orders and take appropriate actions.
“And so, for Rivers State, I can confirm authoritatively that there are still orders of court.
“In such situations, in line with the advice of the National Legal Adviser, what the party should do, which I believe we must do and we should do, is to be cautious in taking action that might overreach the court decisions or court orders that are there. So, that is the position with Rivers.
“There are so many other states where we have issues with court cases, we have not taken action in that respect…in Abia, in Ekiti, and a couple of other states, we have a couple of court judgments which we have respected.
“I have no reason to suspect that we will not respect that of Rivers State. I have no reason why we should not abide with that.”
Regarding the recent report on the suspension of Senator Dino Melaye from the PDP, the national spokesman clarified that the party is not aware of it.
“I’m not aware of that. There’s a process of suspending people. I have not seen any document to that effect. We don’t suspend people on social media. We suspend people based on processes.”
There were reports last Friday suggesting that the executive committee of his Ayetoro/Iluagba Ward 1 in Kogi State had suspended him over conduct that allegedly “brought embarrassment and disrepute to the party.”
