Travel Ban: PDP says this is 'full-blown fascism'

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said on Saturday that it rejects in its entirety, “attempt by the Buhari Presidency to foist a full-blown fascism on our country, beginning with the placement of illegal travel restrictions on Nigerians.”

In a press statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, the party said this “draconian step is clearly targeted at members of the opposition parties, perceived political enemies of President Muhammadu Buhari, well-meaning Nigerians, including members of the business community, religious leaders, former political leaders and traditional rulers, who are perceived to be averse to President Buhari’s re-election bid.

“The PDP further notes that this “decree” is a direct clampdown on our democratic order and an overthrow of rights of our citizenry as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“We hope this is not a ploy to harm certain eminent Nigerians on the claims of resisting travel restrictions.

“The whole world can now see how fascism is fast taking over our democracy and judicial system and how the Buhari administration, by fiat, has directly ordered that citizens be secretly trailed, their movements and financial transactions restricted by government agencies, without recourse to due process of the law,” the statement highlighted.

The party said while it notes that the Buhari presidency has gone into “panic mode since the popular emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as PDP Presidential candidate and the spontaneous jubilation his emergence has evoked across the country, the party maintains that the resort to total clamp down on the opposition and our supporters will be totally unacceptable.

“What this means is that all Nigerians, particularly, opposition members, members of the business community and religious leaders, have become endangered and stand the risk of state violence under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.

“The PDP, therefore, alerts the international community to hold the Buhari Presidency responsible should any harm befall any opposition leader, key members of the business community and religious leaders across the country as we march towards the 2019 general elections.

“Finally, the repositioned PDP invites all to note how the APC and the Buhari Presidency are pushing our nation to the brinks but restates that no amount of intimidation, harassment and foisting of fascism will deter Nigerians from their determination to rally on the platform of the PDP to oust the incompetent, anti-people and repressive APC administration, come 2019.