APC PCC DEMANDS PROOF OF ALLEGED PLOT TO ASSASSINATE ATIKU, CALLS FOR UNFETTERED INVESTIGATION

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has challenged the camp of African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to produce evidence of an alleged plot by the Federal Government to assassinate the former vice president, describing the claim as grave and demanding that it be subjected to a security investigation.

The council spoke on Tuesday after Timi Frank, an ADC member and political ally of Atiku, alleged that the Nigerian government was plotting to assassinate the opposition presidential candidate.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, the APC-PCC categorically denied that President Bola Tinubu, the Presidency or the campaign council was involved in any plan to harm Atiku or any other opposition figure.

Rather than allow such a serious allegation to remain in the political arena without investigation, the council called on security agencies to invite Frank to present whatever evidence or intelligence he possessed.

“This is a grave allegation that Mr Frank must prove,” Alake said.

The council said any genuine threat to the life of a presidential candidate must be treated seriously irrespective of political affiliation, insisting that Frank should make available any information capable of assisting security agencies.

The APC-PCC also disputed Frank’s claim about Atiku’s security arrangements.

According to Alake, reports that security personnel attached to the former vice president had been withdrawn were “totally false,” as Atiku continued to receive protection from both the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services.

The council said Atiku enjoys state-funded security protection both as a former vice president and as a presidential candidate in the 2027 election.

It further said President Tinubu had directed security agencies to reinforce protection for presidential and vice-presidential candidates as well as governorship and deputy governorship candidates across the country.

According to the PCC, the directive means that rather than weakening Atiku’s security, the Federal Government has strengthened his protection ahead of the election.

Alake accused Frank of attempting to heat up the political atmosphere with an allegation the council said had not been substantiated.

The campaign council described the claim as “opposition rabble-rousing,” accusing some opposition figures of increasingly resorting to open letters and appeals to foreign governments and international organisations to draw attention to domestic political disputes.

Frank had called for international attention to what he alleged were threats against Atiku’s life and made allegations of possible intimidation, arrest, or detention of the ADC presidential candidate.

But the APC-PCC said political disagreements should not become a licence for allegations capable of generating fear or tension ahead of the 2027 election.

The council also invoked Tinubu’s history as an opposition politician, arguing that the President understands the place of a viable opposition in a democracy.

It recalled that Tinubu spent years in opposition and played a prominent role in the political coalition that eventually defeated the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the 2015 presidential election.

The APC-PCC warned that increasingly heated rhetoric was likely as campaigning intensified, but said politicians should be held to a standard of factual and responsible public communication, particularly when allegations involve threats to life and national security.

It urged candidates, political parties, and their supporters to keep the contest peaceful and lawful and concentrate on issues affecting Nigerians rather than what it described as “wild, baseless allegations” and character attacks.