Nigerians Should Probe APC's Link With MEND And Boko Haram..Femi Fani Kayode

 

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday in Enugu challenged the Presidential candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari to unveil his blueprint to Nigerians on how to fight corruption and revive the nation's economy.

Also yesterday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode called on Nigerians and members of the international community to interrogate the relationship of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Boko Haram and Buhari.

Addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters who thronged the main bowl of Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium, Enugu, venue of the PDP Presidential campaign rally, Jonathan said his administration had tackled the problem of corruption in the last four years using modern technologies.

He noted that unlike in 1983 when Buhari clamped "innocent Nigerians" into Kirikiri, there were new and modern ways of fighting corruption.

"People keep accusing us of being corrupt; let them bear in mind that no nation can thrive with corruption. We hate corruption but the issue now is that they have not told us how they will deal with it. They should show us how they will manage the econony better than us. Let them unveil their blueprint," he said.

The President also presented candidates of the party in the zone where he raised the hand of Emeka Ihedioha whom he described as “the next governor of Imo State”.

The president who spent the better part of his 53-minutes address tackling Buhari’s administration in 1983, said he stood miles away from the APC candidate in terms of possession of democratic credentials, noting that despite the promises the opposition leader made when he took over as the nation's military leader, the economy nearly collapsed on him as a result of his anti-people policies.

He also read out some portions of the text of the 1985 coup read by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on why the Buhari regime was toppled in a bid to further buttress his points that the APC candidate did not possess leadership credentials as being brandished by his supporters.

"I've told them that this nation must move forward. I cannot run the country based on my heartbeat but it ought to be based on global best practices. This is a man who jailed Dr Alex Ekwueme for no reason and also jailed Jim Nwobodo for 301 years because of allegation of corruption yet they were innocent.  We must run Nigeria based on the rule of law.

"In a democracy, somebody is talking about throwing people into Kirikiri. That's not what is expected in a modern democracy. We cannot go back to archaic way of fighting corruption. Today, salaries are paid through the electronic system, IPPIS for all federal workers; this has reduced corruption in the system. They want us to be fighting imaginary enemies; catch people, lock them up, show them on television and celebrate it. I can't do that. The best way to stop robbery and corruption is to use technology.

"When we came on board, agriculture was a major avenue for stealing money but all that has changed; we adopted the technological way and today, farmers now get their fertilizers directly. By the time we finish with all the sectors, Nigeria would be completely rid of corruption. Also, their impression that everybody who flies private jet is corrupt is laughable. In other nations in America,  Europe and Asia, businessmen who do genuine businesses have their private jets; are they now saying all those people are corrupt and should be thrown into Kirikiri?

"On the economy, we have the best hands managing the economy. Our Finance Minister is one of the best in the world today. They accused us of stealing the foreign reserve; it simply means they don't know what foreign reserve is because nobody steals the foreign reserve. Buhari is coming with the same message he brandished in 1983 when he was a young man not knowing that things have changed. We cannot fight corruption his own way," he noted.

On security, the  PDP Presidential candidate also dismissed the allegation that he had failed to equip the military, noting that under him, the nation's military had achieved what they could not in the past 30 years, explaining that before he came on board, the nation had only one Frigate warship, but today, there are four Frigates. He also noted that plans were under way to build drones using indigenous hands.

Other speakers at the rally including the PDP National Chairman,  Ahmadu Mu'azu (who presented party flag to its gubernatorial candidate in the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi); First  Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan; Deputy Senate President,  Ike Ekweremadu; Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa-Ibom; Theodore Orji of Abia and Sullivan Chime of Enugu State as well as the Director General of Jonathan's campaign committee, Dr Ahmadu Ali. They all appreciated the people of South-east for their unwavering support for the president.

Specifically, Akpabio ruled out the possibility of a parallel government by the APC, noting that Jonathan will win the election "fair and square". Voting for them means a vote for insurgency. We cannot hand over Nigeria to vandals. They cannot benefit from the misfortune they've unleashed on Nigerians," he said.

While Abia governor said the people of South-east would not give their votes to the same man that clamped their leaders including Ekwueme, Nwobodo and Dr Sam Mbakwe into prison, his Enugu counterpart said ordinarily, the president had no need coming to Enugu as the state remains his major support base.

On his part, Vice president, Namadi Sambo said the PDP administration under President Jonathan had done a lot for the people of the South-east including the Akanu-Ibiam International Airport, the rehabilitation of the railway line from Port-Harcourt to Makurdi, the ongoing construction of the second Niger Bridge as well as the construction of about 200km of roads in some parts of the zone.

While eulogising the zone as having produced some of the nation's great leaders who made enormous contributions to the overall development of the nation, the Vice President said the only way to sustain the contributions of the zone's founding fathers was for the people to vote massively for the president.

Nigerians should interrogate the relationship of MEND, Boko Haram and Buhari…
Meanwhile, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has called on Nigerians and members of the international community to interrogate the relationship involving the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) as well as Boko Haram and the All Progressives Congess (APC) with its presidential candidate, Buhari.

Fani-Kayode made the call on Friday in Abuja against the backdrop of the purported endorsement by MEND of General Buhari’s presidential candidacy on the APC platform.

He said when accosted by journalists that Buhari’s comments about insurgency in Nigeria were worrisome and that his endorsement by MEND, a discredited militia group, should also give Nigerians and the international community great concerns.

The PDP Presidential Campaign spokesperson said with the way events are curiously unfolding, it would not come as a surprise if Boko Haram group equally publicly endorses General Buhari and the APC.

According to him, “it is important for Nigerians to take another look at General Buhari’s comments about Boko Haram and the way he has encouraged Boko Haram.

“It is on public record that Buhari had announced to the whole world that it was unfair and unjust for the Boko Haram to be tackled; a sect that had killed over 20,000 innocent Nigerians, mostly women and children, after burning their homes and destroying their communities.

“It is also on record that Buhari has severally and consistently criticised government for protecting Nigerians against attacks by Boko Haram and has gleefully announced that government forces should stop attacking the Boko Haram, and in fact, should treat them like the Niger Delta militants; in other words, rehabilitate them, grant them amnesty and pay them every month, concluding that any attack on the Boko Haram sect was a declaration of war on the people of Northern Nigeria.”

This, according to Fani-Kayode, brings us to the question of the true nature of Buhari’s relationship with these terrorist group and its international affiliates.

He further stated that the APC’s spokesperson, Lai Mohammed, whom he described as a friend, had supported Buhari by stating that the proscription of Boko Haram by Federal Government after they had murdered 20,000 Nigerians in cold blood was unjust and unconstitutional.

“I think it is relevant and something of interest for all Nigerians and the members of the international community to begin to ask questions about the nexus between Boko Haram, MEND and all these terrorist organisations that find it easy to kill people and the leading opposition presidential candidate and the APC