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The Peoples Democratic Party has cornered nearly 4,000 of the 5,000 invitation cards for the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as President on Friday.
A source on the Inauguration Committee co-chaired by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that the action to hijack the cards is deliberate.
“We don’t want President Goodluck Jonathan to be embarrassed during the ceremony as we gather that there are plans to boo the outgoing President during the ceremony,” the source said.
“It is imperative that we give the outgoing President a cheerful exit,” he added.
According to the source, the development is already generating tension among members of the Committee following spirited pressures by other political parties not to be left out of the ceremony.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and erstwhile Chairman of defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Tony Momoh, has threatened to boycott the inauguration ceremony.
It was gathered that all the efforts of Mr. Momoh to secure an access card has failed.
“As we speak, the house of Prince Momoh is filled with people asking for invitation cards. Sadly, Prince Momoh does not even have a card to himself.”
Furthermore, it was gathered that the APC has 1,300 invitation cards only for its local and foreign dignitaries who have declared interest in attending the ceremony.
Even the APC itself is not left out of the acrimony as there are claims that former Governor Sylva, who represents the interest of the incoming government in the Committee has allegedly absconded with the invitation cards allotted to it.
“The representative of the APC in the Inauguration Committee is playing hide and seek with his own people as some members of the its Presidential Campaign and even top notch of the party are without the necessary accredited access into the Eagle Square venue of the event,” the source said.
Mr. Sylva could not be reached for comments.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that it is complain galore as serving former governors, serving members and incoming members of the National Assembly, party chieftains including members of the Inauguration Committee itself and media chieftains some of whom had the honour of being part of US President Barack Obama’s inauguration have been left out of the Friday handover ceremony.
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