The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Cross River State and the opposition Labour Party are trading blame over an alleged assassination attempt on a senatorial candidate of one of the parties.

Two security details attached to the candidate of the PDP in Cross River-South senatorial district, Mr. Gershom Bassey, were said to have been hit by bullets fired by suspected assassins that requested to see the candidate at his Calabar residence.

This came just as a group, Democratic Alliance, on Monday, absolved the incumbent senator representing the southern senatorial district, Bassey Otu, of complicity in the failed attack. Otu is currently seeking reelection on the platform of the Labour Party.

The state chairman of the LP, Mr. Austin Ibok, also said the assassination attempt on Bassey may have been self-inflicted, alleging that the PDP candidate colluded with some hoodlums to create a scenario of attack on his security details.

But the state PDP chairman, Mr. John Okon, who led some executive members on a sympathy visit to Bassey, on Thursday, said no amount of violence would stop his party from winning all available elective positions in the elections.

He said, “Bassey is one of our best leaders who won a keenly contested primary. If people are disgruntled and leave the party, they should wait for us in the field. No amount of violence will make us not to win the forthcoming elections.”

While urging the candidate to be more security conscious, the PDP chairman assured Bassey that the party was solidly behind him.

In his response, Bassey said he was shocked when news got to him that some hoodlums had come to attack his security details, calling on disgruntled PDP members to retrace their steps.

Bassey appealed to youths to eschew violence before and after the elections, adding that the party was not known to breed violence.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance, in a statement jointly signed by its Coordinator, Mr. Eyo Nsa, Director of Women Affairs, Mrs. Abigail Ekpo, among others, flayed every attempt by the PDP to associate Senator Otu with the dastardly act.

The statement read in part, “Our attention has been drawn to the nebulous propaganda and insinuations by the state chairman of PDP, John Okon, corroborated by the senatorial candidate, Gershom Bassey, over the recent assassination attempt on the life of the latter in Calabar.

“Ordinarily, we would have ignored the outburst and false alarm as a non-issue, but instead, we are forced to summon this forum to educate the unsuspecting electorate and security agencies.”

Source: PUNCH