The controversy over the operations of Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has refused to die down as the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) has called on both President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar to resign from office for denigrating the institution of the Presidency.
The report of the Senate Committee on PTDF had, indicted Vice President Abubakar of diversion of public fund and blamed President Obasanjo for approving money for some projects before the Federal Executive Council endorsed them.
The National Chairman of ANPP, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Saturday called on both President Obasanjo and Vice President Abubakar to follow the path of honour by resigning their offices.
According to Ume-Ezeoke, �The ANPP has taken a stand on this issue and our stand is that both of them should immediately resign from office. Both of them should resign, because they have cast a lot of mess on the integrity of the institution of the presidency.
�They have denigrated the institution of the presidency of this country. The presidency is a great institution of honour, their conduct, their behaviour is not what it should be of people holding such exalted office. So, we as a party said, they must resign, so as to restore the honour and integrity of the exalted institution of the presidency,� he said.
On the chances of members of the party who are indicted and barred from contesting the April elections, especially in Yobe State where the party submitted the names of Senator Usman Bashir and Senator Mamman Ali, the ANPP Chairman said, �INEC is the final arbiter in this matter. That�s what the law says. INEC will decide who and who that will contest.� If they say that the Chairman of ANPP will not contest, I will not contest, or I go to the court to challenge their decision.
“There is nothing I will do, because my name will not come inside the ballot paper. All I will do is to go court to force my name inside the ballot paper,” he said.
Ume-Ezeoke continued, �INEC is not court, but the constitution has given them the power. You cannot run away from that fact, the same constitution says that those who want to contest election will pass through INEC�.
The ANPP chairman said the party�s alliance with the Action Congress (AC) was still alive.
Ume-Ezeoke refused to compare the AC/ANPP alliance with the comatose alliance of the second republic, stating, �There is no way that you can compare the AC/ANPP alliance with the UPN/NPP alliance that never saw the light of the day. The AC/ANPP alliance is very different. I was an active participant.
Meanhwile, Ume-Ezeoke has also served a strong notice to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to get ready to leave power on May 29 this year, saying that ANPP would take over and present to Nigerians a better platform for progress and development.
Ume-Ezeoke said the ANPP’s preparedness for the task of national governance in Abuja on the occasion of the presentation of the party’s flag to the Taraba State Governorship candidate of the party, Senator Abdulazeez Ibrahim (Junior).
According to him, “We are poised to take over power at the centre come April elections.”
Mar42007