Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Mohammadu Buhari has threatened to back out of the historic Abuja peace accord should the political allies of president Goodluck Jonathan continue with their insults and verbal attacks on his person.The APC presidential flag bearer also warned the authorities against interfering with the constitutional duties and operations of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC or surreptitiously hound its chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega out of office before the expiration of his tenure.
Buhari’s outburst followed the recent actions of Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose whom he said wished him dead in a paid advertorial and the Director-General of the People’s Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization, PDPPCO who was said to have repeated thrown tantrums over his academic qualifications.
It will be recalled that president Jonathan, Buhari and other 12 presidential candidates on January 10, 2014 signed a peace pact to resist violence before, during and after the general elections.
Speaking in a press conference in Abuja Wednesday, Buhari through the Director, Media, Information Management Directorate of his Support Organization, otherwise called, BSO, Dr. Chidi Maduekwe said that it was time the presidential allies stopped attacking his person.
Maduekwe recalled that upon the postponement of the general election which ordinarily would have prompted aggressions, Buhari camp swiftly appealed to its supporters to be calm in the interest of the nation and the peace accord, wondering why the political associates of the president Jonathan had continued to flout the peace accord.
He said: “We are all witness to the recent postponement of 2015 elections by INEC on the grounds that security chiefs could not guarantee security at polls.
“While the postponement may have been within the constitutional window, the excuse on security seemed not quite germane. This sudden shift became acceptable to us for the sake of the overall interest for national peace . Our teeming supporters were urgently appealed to maintain calm with the assurances that six weeks will soon pass by as if it were just six days.
“Regrettably, following this postponement, PDP government acting in cohort with the close aides and associates of Mr. President have been falling head over hills among themselves as they compete on who delivers most acidic insult, abuse, incendiary words and inflammatory remarks on our revered Presidential candidate , General Muhammadu Buhari.
“These actions are all in breach of the Abuja Peace Accord jointly signed by all the presidential candidates. This is totally unacceptable and consequently we cannot continue to guarantee the tolerance limit of our teeming supporters nationwide who are daily being inundated with death wish commentaries on the person of General Muhammadu Buhari.
“It has become imperative to ask Mr. President to rein in his aides if he must be seen to walk his talk that, his ambition is not worth any spill of human blood . His aides and associates are disingenuously currently working at cross purposes to this his favorite cliché by daily fanning the ambers of hate, pursuance of death wish and even going as far as stalking of GMB outside shores of this country.
“The memories of a nearly successful assassination attempt on the life of GMB is still fresh in our mind . Our patience, our meekness, our prayerfulness and our patriotic commitment to maintaining the national peace should not be misconstrued for weakness.
“Let it be stated clearly that Mr. President’s aides and political associates do not possess the monopoly for flagrant breaches to the Abuja Peace Accord .The hour has come to henceforth disallow these psychopathic sociopaths that have taken over the megaphone of Mr. President and tell them in very clear terms that enough is enough. We are ready to rise to the occasion to take down any unwarranted, baseless and inflammatory condemnation shot in our direction henceforth.
“We call on Mr. President to show full commitment to the terms and conditionality of the Abuja Peace Accord jointly entered into and rein in his aides and political associates from further infuriating commentaries ,hate speeches and to stop over heating the polity with their incendiary remarks.”
Also speaking on the INEC, Maduekwe warned that any attempt to tamper with the leadership of the electoral management body at this time of election may prompt negative consequences for the country.
According to him, INEC must be allowed to use the card reader for the election.
“We have all the while been enamored to bear this burden of daily insult and aspersion on our principal because we hope and trust that very soon INEC shall by March 28 and April 11th conduct a transparent free and fair election. Our hope and trust in INEC becomes eroded every time we assimilate these death threats and hate speeches from Mr. President unrestrained hatchet men whose glaring and questionable track records are well known to all and sundry.
“While Mr. President has repeatedly said that May 29th handover date is sacrosanct . He is yet to declare that the Independence and Transparent conduct of elections by INEC are sacrosanct. We also expect Mr. President to unequivocally declare that the rescheduled election dates of March 28 and April 11 are equally sacrosanct.
“The above three declarations will truly take away the wind from these hatchet men and showcase Mr. President as someone determined to walk his talk that his ambition is not worth the spill of any person’s blood . His recent media chat misrepresentation of his sole powers to hire and fire INEC Chairman is not provided for in the constitution. This also needs to be corrected.
“At this juncture in our march towards march 28th,2015, we make bold to warn that any exogenous effort to interfere ,modulate , attenuate, reposition or juxtapose the INEC leadership will be tantamount to an inglorious and ill-timed behavior that will never resonate positively within our polity at this time.
“This will certainly leave us with no choice but to doubt the transparency of the current electoral processes . Any action by omission or commission that prevents INEC from carrying out its constitutional mandate as presently composed will be a grave consequence to our fledgling democracy. INEC at this crucial time should not be deprived of the credibility it has garnered over the years as has been attested to by both international and local observers”, he said.
Citing Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone as African countries where the technology of card reader had been proven to give credible elections, the BSO’s spokesman said that INEC should be given a chance to conduct the elections using the technology.
“The card Reader gave Ghana it’s freest, fairest and most credible election in recent times. The Card Reader gave Kenya it’s freest, fairest and most credible election in recent times. The Card Reader gave Sierra Leone it’s freest, fairest and most credible election in recent times.
“Nigeria’s INEC successfully supervised the use of Card Readers in the elections in Sierra Leone.
“Jega recently tested the card reader before members of the senate and proved his mettle to the appreciation of the distinguished members.
“We must allow INEC to do in Nigeria what they supported Sierra Leone to achieve. Nigerians want a free, fair and credible election where only Nigerians can decide who leads them. We will not stand with anyone who stands in the way of that freedom by dragging us back to the age of Temporary Voters Card or otherwise.
“Mr. President is on record for praising INEC in the past in all elections right from 2011. With the current improvement by INEC it is curious that this same agency has now become the whipping boy for PDP chieftains and aides of Mr. President. Any effort to destabilize INEC at this hour will be a perilous endeavor that should never be contemplated”, Maduekwe warned.
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