By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — National leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, tongue-lashed All Progressives Congress, APC, accusing the opposition party of plans to deceive Nigerians regarding its role in the deployment of officials of the Department of State Service, DSS, to Osun State, ahead of the August 9 governorship election.

Aregbesola and Omisore

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, who described the move as shameful and disgusting, said: “In turning to accuse the PDP-led government of moving operatives of the DSS to terrorise the people of the state when, in actual fact, the APC governor of Osun State also formally requested for their deployment, the APC has again displayed a penchant for deceit and lies for which it has become notorious.

“Nigerians may recall that last Friday, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, issued a statement querying the presence of DSS officials in Osun State.

“We find in this statement the height of hypocrisy, especially as it is incontrovertible that it was the Osun APC governor who, in a letter dated July 4, 2014, and addressed to the Director General of the DSS, requested for the deployment for the purpose of security and general protection ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State and to help secure peace and make the election hitch-free, as security is beefed up for the election.

“It is, therefore, shocking and utterly despicable for the APC to turn round to point accusing fingers at the PDP and the Presidency when the DSS officials arrived and commenced their duties in line with the request of the governor.

“While Nigerians have continued to express shock over this act of deception, we in the PDP ask: Is it a question of APC dishing out statements without cross-checking internally? Or is it a question of the party adopting lies, deceit and propaganda as ideology?

“These questions have become necessary, given that the APC has become infamous for fabrications as means to curry the support of unsuspecting Nigerians.

“We recall a similar statement by APC in June wherein it alleged that a plane carrying Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso to attend an APC rally in Ekiti to support Governor Kayode Fayemi’s re-election bid was denied landing permission in Akure, only for Kwankwaso’s Director of Press Affairs, Baba Dantiye, to announce that his boss was at another event in Kano and had no plans to travel to Ekiti State.”

“APC has since proven to be a party with little regard for integrity. This is a party that threw all sense of honour to the winds and condescended so low to lie over an issue as ordinary as the age of its 52-years-old youth leader.

”The APC has continued to trade on wild allegations against government officials and sensitive government institutions including security agencies, INEC and the National Assembly with the aim to cause confusion, pitch the people against the government and establish a reign of anarchy in the country.

”Nigerians should note the sustained vitriolic attacks and campaign of calumny against the legislature at the national and state levels wherein the APC has sought to label them as corrupt, falsely accusing them of receiving millions of dollars to do PDP’s bidding.

“Early this year, the APC raised an alarm that federal lawmakers were being induced with millions of dol