The Presidency has accused Nigeria’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of seeking to destabilise the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, Femi Adesina, spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari said the opposition party has given itself away as being interested only in the destabilization of the country, peradventure it could then sneak its way back to power.
“Less than 24 hours after the Department of State Services (DSS) raised alarm about sinister plots by some elements to cause disorder in the land, using the energy crisis as a smokescreen, the PDP issued a statement, saying; “Our party fears that the situation is getting to a boiling point and can trigger a nationwide agitation that might be worse than the October 2020 EndSARS if not addressed immediately.
“Which patriotic political party or organization ever threatens its country with anarchy, social upheaval and disorderliness, except one still smarting from its snout being yanked from the honeypot, as happened to PDP in 2015?
“But we wish to remind the now tepid opposition party that it was Nigerians that gave it the boot 7 years ago, and those same Nigerians have not forgotten the travails they experienced, at a time the country was awash with money: no power, no infrastructure, insurgents ran riot round the nation, and our collective patrimony was looted blind. Those same Nigerians are not ready for another PDP misrule, not now, and perhaps not for a long time to come.
Adesina added that, Rather than plot and encourage “agitation worse than October 2020 EndSARS,” which it may well be conceiving, the PDP should work for harmony and cohesion in the country, if it ever understands such concept.
He added that, “EndSARS signified murder, mayhem, mass destruction, even cannibalism. PDP now wishes Nigeria something worse.
“A presidential aspirant of the PDP has warned that the party would die by 2023, unless it wins the Number One position in the country. And die it would, if the party wishes the country nothing except something worse than EndSARS.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
