A socio-political group, Akwa Ibom Integrity Vanguard has joined governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and other stakeholders to condemn the invasion of the Akwa Ibom government house by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), describing it as a coup aimed at forcefully installing an All Progressives Congress, APC-led government in the state.

The PDP Governors, Tuesday, lamented that Nigeria was sliding into dictatorship under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The PDP governors led by their chairman and Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Olusegun Mimiko, in a communiqué, said that the invasion was against the spirit, ethos, values and fundamental tenets of democratic norms and tradition, more so with the existence of a duly elected and sworn in governor of the state.

The group said it is alarmed by the desperation of the APC to get the oil rich Akwa Ibom state by all means, accusing the APC-led FG of allegedly using security operatives to harass electoral officers, the elected governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel of the PDP, the former governor of the state and Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and their supporters.

“In an election where the APC scored less than eight percent of total votes cast, Electoral Officers are being hounded, intimidated and threatened to do APC’s bidding. All actions so far has pointed to one irrevocable direction: the APC government wants to takeover Akwa Ibom by all means. Their plan is to intimidate Udom Emmanuel the duly elected governor of Akwa Ibom State, intimidate and harass the teeming supporters of Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, who is now seen as the father of modern day democracy in Akwa Ibom state since they can never rubbish his legacies,” the group said in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Ediong Moses .

“The APC government has changed judges in the tribunal case including appointing judges from the home state of President Buhari all with the view of ensuring they get a favorable judgment in the case. Now, even the Government House in Uyo is not immune from invasion with impunity. Nigerians beware, we may be returning to the dark days of military dictatorship”.

“We therefore, call upon Nigerians to be aware of the plots of the APC in their attempt to cause anarchy and destroy our democracy in their quest for territorial conquest. We are not in a war. This is a democracy. Democratic institutions and organizations within and outside Nigeria should also take note of these dangerous trends. We hereby insist that President Muhamudu Buhari should step out and reassure Nigerians that he is committed to democratic norms and best practices. Operation TAKEOVER AKWA IBOM must stop now,” it added.