Akpabio, Lamido, Aliyu, Imoke, Mimiko, Fayose, others knock opposition party
Buhari will spend two terms in office, says APC
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors yesterday took turn to tell Nigerians why they should re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan. The governors, who gathered in Lagos at a programme organised by the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDPGF), urged Nigerians not to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, as he has nothing to offer. The governors, including Chief Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Alhaji Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Dr. Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Mr. Bala James Ngilari (Adamawa), Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Chief Jonah Jang (Plateau), Mr. Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti) and Senator Liyel Imoke (Cross River), described APC as a party that thrives on deceit and fraud.
According to them, Nigerians will be better off retaining the PDP in power. Their comments, however, drew quick rebuttal from the APC, which dismissed, among others, their allegation that Buhari would serve only one term in office. Akpabio, chairman of the PDPGF, said at the interactive session with the media and civil society organisations that voting for APC would not solve the problem of corruption, considering the fact that Buhari and other past heads of state were worse that the government they overthrown. He added that only Jonathan-led PDP government had fought corruption effectively with the creation of strong institutions. “PDP wants a corruption- free Nigeria. It is important to note that the PDP has done a lot in the fight against corruption since the coming of democracy, particularly under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. “But, we abhor the politicisation of corruption by military veterans. We know what Buhari did after he indicted our respected leaders like Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Dr Alex Ekwueme and others of corruption.
These military veterans and their cohorts are today still trying to use the same old trick to hoodwink our people. “Questions that come to mind are: Who are the people talking about corruption? Who are the main financiers of the opposition? How did they make their money? We cannot fall prey to the same old trick. We are wiser today. “Buhari is still thinking of using the same subterfuge to deceive us today. We dare not allow anyone to use a 50-year-old trick to destroy our democratic values,” he stated. Akpabio also said the APC presidential candidate lacked the ability to govern Nigeria. Aliyu, who chairs the Northern State Governors’ Forum, also expressed displeasure at the emergence of Buhari as APC presidential candidate. He said Buhari’s victory would rob the North the opportunity to produce a president in 2019 as he would only serve one term in office. He took a swipe at those describing 16 years of the ruling PDP as a waste in Nigeria, saying the party has transformed the country.
He also debunked the report by Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, that seven PDP governors are talking with APC, with the aim of defecting to the opposition party. He said Buhari could not preside over Nigeria effectively and those backing him were doing so to extend their looting to the national level. He added that voting for Jonathan will give the North an opportunity to produce a president in 2019. On his part, Lamido described APC as comprising disgruntled politicians driven by hate and anger, adding that the party cannot be trusted with the presidency. In his remarks, Fayose described Buhari as too old for the job. Fayose said Buhari would end up as a shield for some people to loot the treasury.
“Nigeria must not be misled, they must vote for people who have the mental capacity, Buhari is too old. “I have caught the APC red-handed on Buhari’s health, his official age is 74 while my mother is 73 years. I know how she looks now. Buhari is my father. I am not after him but we must avoid the banana peel the APC has put before us.
“North must be patient for four years as Jonathan spending another four years will give the North an opportunity for eight years,” he stated. In his contribution, Jang said he was yet to collect his Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and warned the the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against disenfranchising millions of Nigerians. Mimiko also defended Jonathan’s tenure, saying no president since 1999 has come close to his achievements in office. He said voting for Jonathan who convoked the National Conference would allow speedy passage of the over 600 resolutions made by the delegates. But in a swift reaction to the allegations against the party and Buhari by the PDP governors, the APC accused them of embarking on a campaign of calumny. It dismissed claim by the PDP that Buhari will spend only one term in office.
T he party, in a statement against the backdrop of the allegation by PDP governors that the opposition party intentionally fielded septuagenarian Buhari for the presidential race as part of a plot to deny the North of twoterm presidency, said his constitutionally-guaranteed two-term of office would not be abridged, if elected. The statement, issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described as myth the PDP’s allegation, aimed at causing friction between the north and south geopolitical zones It said: ”The APC will not abridge the right of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to spend the constitutionally- guaranteed two terms as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, if elected in the March 28th poll.
”No conditionality whatsoever was attached to Gen. Buhari’s candidacy. He won the party primaries fair and square in a globally-acclaimed transparent manner and he was neither a compromise nor a consensus candidate; hence there is no need for him to make a deal with anyone. ”We are therefore telling Nigerians to disregard the tales by the moonlight which some PDP elements are yarning in their desperation to muddle the waters ahead of the forthcoming elections and create disaffection between a section of the country and another”. The party stated that it had ignored the myth all long because it was being peddled by fringe elements in the PDP, but decided to put the record straight once and for all after top officials of the ruling party started parroting the claim.
”This myth that Buhari will spend one term, after which power will return to the South-West, is along the same line as the outlandish claim that our vice-presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has sworn to an oath to resign in favour of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu once elected. ”The question to ask is: When will the PDP stop this campaign of calumny and character assassination against our candidates and leaders? When will they stop this one-day, one-lie nonsense? ”The truth is that Gen. Buhari’s candidacy has brought out the worst in the PDP leadership and supporters, including Mr. President and his wife. Unfortunately for them, the more they campaign against our candidate, the more popular he becomes,” APC added.
Besides, the party’s presidential campaign organisation also condemned Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, for suggesting the kidnapping of APC leaders According to it, the governor should be blamed if any APC leader is abducted. Briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Media and Publicity, APCPCO, Mallam Garba Shehu, said: “As we were preparing for this press conference, some of the PDP governors are meeting in Lagos and some of the language that are coming from that place are not particularly pleasant. “I want to consider what the governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, said. I think that is terribly in a bad taste that the governor will stand in the front of the television cameras and announced that to break the APC, all they needed to do is to kidnap two APC leaders and then the party would be broken. “For us in the APC presidential campaign, kidnapping is a serious threat to this country and it is not a matter that people should joke about, just as it is with Boko Haram.
Of course, it is not surprising that for our presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, the key issues are about the security and the lives and property of the people of this country and as you can see from his various speeches, this is a matter he intends to give his all.”