Buhari has not changed… he locked me up during his military regime - Dokpesi

Raymond Dokpesi, frontline contender in the chairmanship race of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says there is no difference between President Muhammadu Buhari as a civilian leader and a military head of state.

Dokpesi said the president “locked up” some Nigerians during his military era, recalling how he was incarcerated as the chief of staff of the then Gongola state.

He was speaking on Sunday at the PDP secretariat in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, where he went to solicit support for his ambition to lead the opposition party.

“I respect Buhari as the president of Nigeria but what he is doing now is not different from what he did as a military head of state,” he said.

“He locked up Nigerians for 200 years, some 150 years. As the Chief of staff of Gongola state, I was locked up and my charge was that I held political office.”

Dokpesi maintained his innocence on the charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying he would not be intimidated to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of the situation.

He said his organisation rendered legitimate service to the former ruling party, and added that he would go any length within the law to defend himself.

“If you are an hotelier and someone spent three days in your hotel and paid for services rendered but days later, DSS came to arrest you that the money the client paid you was from illegal proceed from CBN. How do you explain that?” he asked.

“The case is in court and I don’t want to comment on it but I will not join APC or be a stooge because of it.”