Govt set to demolish New PDP Headquarters

By The Citizen

Following the acceptance by the New PDP faction of the ruling of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which on Friday ordered the group to stop using the name, PDP, in its activities, the Federal Government, through the Federal Capital Development Authority, has marked for demolition the national secretariat of the splinter group at the Maitama District in Abuja.

It was gathered on Monday 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.

Inscriptions on the wall and the gate of the building   on 4, Oyi River Crescent, show    that it was marked on October 11, 2013.

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.

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.

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.