‘You Want To Turn This Country To North Korea Or Russia’ – Bode George Warns After Police Halt PDP Meeting

A prominent chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bode George, has condemned the blockade of the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja by security operatives, describing it as a dangerous drift toward authoritarianism.

Naija News reports that George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, addressed journalists on Monday after he and other senior members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) were barred by armed policemen from accessing Wadata Plaza, the PDP’s headquarters.

Visibly enraged, George said the action was reminiscent of Nigeria’s political crisis in the early 1960s, warning the Federal Government against dragging the nation down a similar path.

He stated, “It’s strikingly annoying. This is our property. Was there any court order to say we will not hold our meeting in our office? What is going on?

“I was a young man in 1962 when it all started in the South West. We must avoid that madness. What is it? Can’t we sit and talk? What is the essence of democracy?”

He accused the authorities of attempting to stifle democratic expression and questioned the justification for deploying heavily armed police to halt a peaceful party meeting.

George added, “Nigerians are watching. You came to our office, surrounded it with police because we want to have a meeting? You want to turn us into North Korea or turn this country to Russia? We will not allow it. Nigerians will not allow it.”

He vowed that the meeting would still hold, though he declined to reveal the new venue, citing security reasons.

Earlier in the day, Naija News had reported that security operatives took over Wadata Plaza, preventing access to the premises by party officials, including BoT members who had converged for the crucial NEC meeting.