There was outrage yesterday over an advertisement placed in
some national newspapers in support of President Goodluck Jonathan’s
re-election campaign.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform the
president is contesting, was under fire over the advertisement placed by Ekiti
State Governor Ayodele Fayose.
The advertisement titled “Nigerians be warned”, quoted a
Bible passage saying “I have set before thee life and death…”. It has
photographs of the late Heads of State Gen. Murtala Muhammed, Gen. Sani Abacha, the late
President Musa Yar’Adua – all of who died in office and the photo of Gen
Buhari, “age 72 from NorthWest again”.
“Will you allow history to repeat itself? Enough of state burials.
Nigerians vote wisely. Vote Goodluck Jonathan. Northern presidency should wait
till 2019,” it said.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) described the
advertisement as “reckless”, adding that PDP leaders have turned themselves to
God.
Gen. Buhari, on his tweeter handle thisIsBuhari, said: “How
can his (Jonathan’s) campaign be talking about dead ex-leaders, jogging around
the stadium and outright lies about my health?”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) described the
advertisement as “choosing death for our candidate”.
The party accused the PDP of threatening Gen. Buhari’s life
and paying lip service to the Abuja accord signed last week by the parties to
ensure a violence-free election.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the Buhari campaign,
Mallam Garba Shehu, said in a statement that “the PDP and its surrogates should
be held responsible if anything happens to Gen. Buhari, before, during and
after the elections”.
The APC Presidential Campaign Organisation advised President
Jonathan and the PDP leadership to take charge of their campaign before their
surrogates plunge Nigeria into confusion and anarchy.
It urged all APC members and millions of supporters of Gen.
Buhari across the country to remain calm and not play into the hands of the PDP
hatchet men to be provoked and thereby, giving them the much-needed excuse to
abort this democracy before or after the elections.
Shehu said: ”This is the height of desperate tactics by the
PDP, which is capable of degenerating into unnecessary bloodshed and
destruction. They are choosing death for us. This is not politics. We are,
therefore, asking our supporters to stay calm and be law-abiding.”
“Even as a candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has a duty to
lead the country with responsibility up until May 29, when a new President will
be inaugurated,” he said, adding that the on-going campaign on Gen. Buhari’s
health, using forged medical reports, and now suggestions of death are reeking
of plots to eliminate him (Buhari) before or after he wins.
The Organisation added that “the world is watching and that
if anything happens to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari before, during or after the
elections, under the pretext of X, Y or Z, we shall be left with no option than
to conclude that the PDP and their surrogates are to be held accountable”.
“All APC members and millions of supporters of Gen. Buhari
across the country should not play into the hands of the PDP hatchet men to be
provoked and thereby, giving them the much-needed excuse to abort this
democracy before or after the elections.”
The APC stressed that it is committed to the peace accord
signed by political parties under the supervision of the former Secretary
General of the United Nations, Dr. Kofi Annan and the former Secretary General
of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.
It asked the police, the SSS, the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) and the advertising regulatory agency in Nigeria
(APCON) to do their jobs by not allowing these dangerous threats to democracy
go unchecked.
“Once again, the APC campaign advises all its supporters to
strive to stay above the ‘rofo-rofo’, which is clearly designed to provoke our
supporters to help the PDP’s sinister agenda to abort this hard fought for
democracy in view of their impending defeat in the forthcoming general
elections,” Shehu said.
The APC Campaign said petitions were being sent to APCON,
INEC, DSS, the Police and concerned newspapers involved “to protest this
malicious death wish”.
Also yesterday, Baraje, a one-time national chair of the
PDP, now a member of the campaign council of the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign
Organisation, condemned in strong terms and in its entirety the advertisement.
He described it as “high sense of irresponsibility and an
insensible act.”
Baraje said the advertisement was “not only reckless,
uncalled for, but a type that can cause anarchy and crisis in the country.”
He expressed surprise that the publication by Fayose came a few days after President
Jonathan, Gen Buhari and other presidential candidates signed a non-violence
agreement for peaceful elections next month.
Baraje said: “There is a limit to the tolerance of
well-meaningful Nigerians to such inflammatory statements such as that of
Governor Fayose. This shows the extent of the desperation of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party.”
He drew the attention of Nigerians and INEC to the inciting
statement credited to Fayose, asking them to call the governor to order.
Baraje said: “Such a statement apart from having the
tendency to cause anarchy and acrimony, the PDP seems to be preparing grounds
for violence a few days to the general elections
“Fayose should not dare God by asking Nigerians to chose
between life and death which made him to refer to General Buhari, the APC
presidential candidate in a news and pictorial advertisement sponsored in front
page of a national daily as a dead man due to his age.
”With the statement credited to the Ekiti State Governor and
the statement by the PDP Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu that the PDP is a party
of injustice and a party that lacks equity where monkey dey work baboon dey
chop, the present leaders of the APC have
been vindicated by their move to leave the PDP enmasse and defect to the APC.”
He warned the leadership of the PDP against bringing such
injustice to the nation.
“Nigerians should be patient and not take the laws into
their hands because the ruling party (PDP) is already jittery about the
impending outcome of the forthcoming elections which is already favouring the
APC considering the massive support the APC has been receiving from all
campaigns they have embarked upon,” he cautioned.
Baraje drew the attention of the Inspector-General of
Police, the INEC Chairman, DSS and other security agencies to the inflammatory
statements originating from the PDP and its candidates particularly Governor
Fayose.
He urged the security agencies to “do something urgently so
as not to cause crisis in the country.”
The Nation
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