Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has said that rigging of election is impossible, if the youths are vigilant and ready to defend the sanctity of the ballot box.
He also said that the National Assembly Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will resist intimidation as it holds the government accountable for its actions. .
Ekweremadu said the PDP will always be alive to its responsibility as an opposition party.
He spoke in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while receiving national, zonal, and state youth leaders of the PDP in his office.
The Deputy Senate President said: “Nobody should be deceived that they will rig elections in 2019. The international community will also be watching, and like the late Sam Mbakwe said ‘if you are awake, the rat would never take your fish.’ So if we ‘shine’ our eyes; nobody will rig us out.
Ekweremadu clarified that he never called for a coup, lamenting that he was misquoted.
He said: “I’m sure some of you are now conversant with the misrepresentation of my statement on the floor of the Senate last week where I cautioned against brigandage, impunity and thuggery and I said as leaders and politicians, we must do the correct thing before we endanger our democracy. That is what I said.
“Never bother about their propaganda. We will continue to speak the truth. We will continue to defend our democracy and urge our leaders to always do the right thing.
“Sometimes, we may be misunderstood, but we will remain unrelenting. It was the great Nnamdi Azikiwe, who said that the best judge of human conduct is conscience. Keep saying the right thing. The person you are speaking to is hearing you; someday his conscience will prick him and he will do the right thing.