The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Buhari campaign

  • Poll’s shift: Buhari campaign group tackles PDP over comment

    Brickbats are still flying over the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its main challenger Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were yesterday trading blames on what triggered the shift, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) attributed its 11th hour postponement to logistics problems.

    According to the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO), INEC’s decision to postpone the  elections scuttled “a massive rigging plot” by the opposition.

    But the PDP accused the APC and the Presidency of sabotaging the INEC in an alleged orchestrated plot to engineer a staggered presidential election.

    The PDP said that President Muhammadu Buhari and APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole merely played to the gallery by their open condemnation of INEC by shifting the poll early Saturday.

    BCO was reacting to claims made by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) of an alleged plan by President Buhari to suspend INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu and replace him with Amina Zakari as acting chairman under the guise of the commission’s inability to conduct the national elections.

    But, in a statement yesterday by its Director of Communications and Strategic Planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the BCO said the reverse was the case, as INEC deliberately shifted the polls to thwart the opposition’s plan to rig the elections.

    The group noted that the alarm raised by the CUPP over the INEC chairman was a perfect plan to cover up for the massive rigging plotted by the PDP, which left the electoral body with no other option than to take the step it took.

    Ibrahim said: “The attention of the BCO has been drawn to a statement by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) in which it accused President Muhammadu Buhari of trying to sack INEC chairman. This came few hours after the Presidency had issued a statement expressing the president’s disappointment with the postponement of the elections.

    “The basis for the claims made by CUPP is that President Buhari, like every other Nigerian, expressed misgivings about the election shift. The truth, however, is that the opposition, with its shrill voice, is merely diverting attention from the revelation that they had perfected plans to rig the polls, using huge sums of money, which they distributed on the eve of the postponed elections.

    “Based on intelligence report that money had been shared by the opposition on the eve of the polls to buy voters, INEC decided to shift the elections to save the country from the sinister plot by the opposition to wheel the country back to the dark days of rigging and manipulation of the electoral process to rob Nigerians of their right to decide who becomes their leader.”

    The BCO urged Nigerians to be patient with INEC, adding that the commission’s decision to shift the elections was taken to save democracy from the fangs of corrupt politicians in the opposition who think elections in Nigeria can never be free, fair and credible.

    Ibrahim added: “We also urge Nigerians to be steadfast and watch out against corrupt political elements in the opposition who are bent on manipulating the electoral process in a desperate bid to return to power at all cost to continue their looting spree.

    “INEC took the decision of shifting the polls in good faith and we in the BCO are solidly behind the electoral body. President Buhari has assured severally that he will ensure the same free and fair process that brought him to power, and this he will surely do.”

    However, the PDP accused the governing party of planning to sell a staggered presidential election idea to the INEC, saying that “this was contrary to the simulated stance by the Presidency and the national chairman of the APC, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, in condemning the postponement of the February 16 elections.”

    In a statement yesterday by its spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP recalled what it described as its ceaseless protests against the continued retention of Mrs. Amina Zakari at a strategic post in INEC.

    The opposition party reiterated its position that Mrs. Zakari is a relation of President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking re-election on the platform of the APC.

    The statement reads: “We have been reliably informed that the same Amina Zakari and another high-ranking INEC commissioner played a pivotal role in assisting the APC and Buhari Presidency in sabotaging the operations of INEC and scuttling the February 16 elections.

    “The reason for this is that President Buhari is determined to have a staggered election where he can use security agencies to subvert the will of the people at the polls.

    “These APC elements in INEC engineered actions that affected the distribution and delivery of INEC sensitive materials to designated locations, thereby frustrating the electoral process.

    “We also have details of how a hired team of data hackers corrupted the voters register, with a view to causing mass confusion and voters suppression on Election Day.

    “Nigerians would have been shocked that many registered voters in possession of their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) would have arrived at their polling centres on election day, only to discover to their amazement that their names had disappeared from the register in their units.”

    According to the PDP, intelligence report at its disposal further detailed how agents of the Buhari Presidency allegedly infiltrated the distribution system and ensured that sensitive election materials did not arrive at the designated locations; with the view to stalling elections in several states and paving the way for a staggered election.

    Ologbodiyan alleged: “This is in addition to deliberate swapping of sensitive election materials between different states and local governments so as to muddle up the process and stall election in affected areas. In some of the states like Edo, sensitive election materials did not arrive at their designated points on APC interruption.”

    He said the opposition party had a pact to stand with Nigerians.

    INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu explained to stakeholders’ at a meeting what informed the shifting of the election.

    At the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, venue of the meeting, Prof Yakubu said that he took responsibility for the postponement.

    Many of the stakeholders, including former Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka, who stood in for the PDP National Chairman, commented on the INEC explanation.

  • Thousands troop out in Katsina for Buhari’s campaign

    Thousands of APC supporters have taken over Katsina, the Katsina State capital, awaiting the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari for his campaign rally in the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that some of the supporters who arrived the city on Wednesday slept on the streets in spite of the cold weather.

    There are reports that the Muhammad Dikko Stadium, venue of the rally, was already filled to capacity.

    Already vehicle owners have to park five to ten kilometres away to trek to the campaign ground due to congestion as a result of massive human and vehicular movement.

    Buhari is expected to wind up his campaign this Thursday in Katsina from where he will proceed to Daura to cast his vote in the presidential election on Saturday in which he is a candidate.

    There are also reports of massive hold up on roads leading to the state capital through Jibia, Batsari, Kaita, Daura, Mani, Dutsinma and Kankia, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters come in from across the 34 local government areas in the state.

    So far, there has been no report of any security breach, as police, military and para military personnel keep vigil in strategic locations.

    NAN observed that traders were making brisk business, even as hundreds of APC supporters move round the city chanting praises of the president.

  • Photos: unprecedented crowd as Buhari campaigns in Sokoto

    SOKOTO, seat of the caliphate is already agog and set to receive the All Progressives Congress(APC) Presidential campaign train.

    Shop owners and other petty traders have locked their places of businesses to attend the rally.

    It is all the way to the airport songs and ovation for the presidential candidate by youths, women and children.

    Read Also: Giginya stadium agog as Buhari campaigns in Sokoto

    ” Sai Baba, Sai Mai gaskiya ” kept renting the air from all directions in the caliphate”

     

  • How Buhari campaign plans to get 60m votes, by Marwa

    The Chairman, Central Working Committee of the Women and Youth Presidential Campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa yseterday said the team is targeting over 60 million votes for President Muhammadu Buhari in the  presidential election.

    Marwa, who is also the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA), stated this yesterday at a media briefing in Abuja.

    He said Buhari Support Organisations (BSOs) would take its door-to-door campaign train to the doorsteps of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida and other places.

    Explaining the essence of the W&YPC team, the former Lagos State Military Administrator said it is a political innovation that will take Buhari’s reelection campaign to the grassroots and household-to-household.

    Marwa said: “The W&YC Team is to support and complement the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC). As we know, the PCC is headed by President Buhari himself, co-chaired by the party’s able and esteemed national leader, former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “The W&YPC Team is also ably headed by the President’s wife Dr. Aisha Buhari, as chairperson, with Vice President’s wife Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, as co-chair.

    “This is definitely a new addition to the political lexicon in Nigeria for two presidential campaign organisations, for the same platform, to run side-by-side. This is innovative, imaginative and strategic and will enhance the potency of the campaign as a whole. The singular objective of the campaign is the victory and re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for a second term on February 16, 2019.

    “I want to make it very clear that there is absolutely no conflict or clash in the functioning of both organisations, that is, the PCC and the W&YPC Team, as we are fully coordinated and synchronised in our operations; including strategies.

    “The fact that both campaign organisations are respectively headed by the President himself, for the PCC and the other by his wife is sufficient to allay fears of any conflict or competition. Both organisations remain complementary.”

    According to him, some members of the PCC are equally in the W&YPC Team such as Festus Keyamo, SAN, Hon Salamatu Baiwa and Hon. Abike Dabiri.

    Some members of the W&YPC Team like Dr. Garba Abari, Dr. Mohammed Mahmood are holding key positions in the PCC, Marwa added.

    “I am also a member of the PCC as a former governor. To further enhance unity of purpose, we have appointed liaison officers both of who are members of both organisations.

    “The Central Working Committee (CWC), of which I have the honour to chair, is the organ of W&YPC Team that will drive the campaign, in close consultation with the executive leadership. Its composition, made up of dynamic and committed party stalwarts, Buhari Support Organisations (BSO) and affiliates, is as given. Women and Youth form approximately   80 per cent of our voting population. Our aim is to target this group. Our base lies on the teeming grassroots support that President Buhari enjoys across the country, from North to South, East to West, epitomised by the over 1,000 BSOs and their affiliates nationwide.

    “The BSO and affiliates like 4+4, BCO and the rest, whose database we have, are fiercely loyal, dedicated and voluntary and have been synchronised into one giant monolithic structure by the conscientious efforts of a patriotic Nigerian, Col. Hamid Ali, who heads its board of trustees, ably assisted by its Director-General, Dr. Mohammed Mahmood, who is also the Vice Chair of the CWC. Our brief is to further harness and energise this huge, dynamic support base in our campaign down to street level, meaning we are here at the National Headquarters, our structures cascade down to zones, states, local governments, wards, units down to street levels. The W&YPC Team will focus on house-to-house campaigns, seeking the endorsement of households to vote Buhari/Osinbajo in the presidential elections holding on February 16, 2019 by God’s Grace.

    “We will unleash this potent and dynamic force of patriotic volunteer support and support groups across the length and breadth of this great country to canvass for votes for the election of Buhari/Osinbajo ticket. Like they did in 2015 and before. We are geared and ready to win the forthcoming presidential election by the grace of God so that President Buhari can be sworn in on May 29, 2019, to take Nigeria to the next level.”

  • Buhari Campaign threatens to sue ex-VP Atiku

    WITH a threat by the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) to sue the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the battle between the  two major contenders in next month’s presidential poll may soon shift to the courtroom.

    The BCO yesterday asked the PDP and Atiku to show within seven days proof of their allegations that President Buhari and members of his family own substantial shares in Etisalat Nigeria and Keystone Bank.

    Relying on sources, Atiku had in a statement issued in Abuja last week by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, claimed that members of the first family had become big players in the financial sector after acquiring mouth-watering shares worth $1.916 billion (equivalent to N307.5 billion) as well as purchasing about N3 billion worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank.

    The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation called for an investigation into the alleged diversion of military funds for the acquisition of shares in 9Mobile in the telecom firm and the bank.

    But the BCO said that the allegations made by Atiku and his party, beyond mere politicking, were too weighty to be ignored or considered as electioneering gimmicks.

    In a reaction by its Director of Communications & Strategic Planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the BCO said the PDP and its candidate should be ready for a court action.

    Relying on the provisions of the law, the President’s support group maintained that the ball was in Atiku’s court to provide evidence of the allegations of sleaze against Buhari and his family because the burden of proof always lies with the person who lays charges.

    Ibrahim said in a statement: “The BCO has been taking note of the smear campaign mounted against President Muhammadu Buhari by the PDP and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in which they accused the first family of owning shares in Keystone Bank with total assets of $1.916 billion (equivalent to N307.5 billion) and Etisalat Nigeria, as well as purchasing about ¦ 3 billion worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank.

    “These are very weighty allegations and we are not saying the former vice president and his party have no right to blow the whistle, especially under an administration with a whistleblowing policy in place.

    “But following the provisions of the law, the burden of proof (onu probandi) is always on the person who brings a claim or alleges.

    “We therefore urge Atiku and his party, PDP, to show proof that the President and members of his family have shares in these companies.

    “At least, with such evidence, they would have done great service to Nigerians by exposing corruption. But if they fail to do so within seven days, the BCO will be left with no other option than to drag them to court on behalf of President Buhari where they will be compelled by the law to provide evidence or pay for damages.”

    Reiterating its stance that the opposition should engage in issue-based campaigns rather than resorting to hate speeches and campaign of calumny against the President, the BCO said it showed that the PDP and its standard bearer have nothing to offer Nigerians.

    Ibrahim continued: “Atiku is certainly feeling the heat of facing reality and has resorted to the principle of ‘attack is best form of defence’. There is no hiding place for him. Those who misgoverned the country in the past should be shamed rather than rewarded. That is the only way Nigeria can move forward.

    “No amount of unfounded allegations against President Muhammadu Buhari can stop Nigerians from voting a leader they have come to trust and believe in for these past years.

    “We will, however, refrain from making further comment on this issue since it is going to be a subject of litigation. But, if Atiku and his party think this will end on the pages of newspaper, they should prepare to meet us in court if they cannot prove their allegations.

  • Buhari campaign accuses Jonathan of using religion for polls

    Buhari campaign accuses Jonathan of using religion for polls

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of using religion to gain sympathy and remain in office at all costs.

    The organisation asked the people of the Southwest to ignore the promises of the president to implement the report of the National Conference, saying it was incapable of protecting their interests.

    Its Director of Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said it was surprising that the President had turned worship centres into platforms for making official statements or announcing government policies.

    Shehu said the strategy defied the norms of government practices, stressing that the president was deliberately doing so “in the belief that the manipulation of religious sentiments would cover up the multitudes of his epic failures.”

    According to him, using worship centres as platforms for making major official statements could create precedents that the country could not handle in future.

    The campaign spokesperson added that if predecessor presidents did not use the mosques or churches to make official statements of public importance, it was wrong for Jonathan to start something that was already sending the wrong message.

    He noted that with the exploitation of religion for political gains, the president and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government have lost any basis to accuse its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, of being a religious “bigot” or “fanatic”.

    The APC presidential campaign said it was scandalised by reports of money being allegedly shared to religious leaders by President Jonathan “to buy their conscience”.

    He said it was incredibly embarrassed as to why a government would allegedly seek to bribe religious leaders to cover up its misdeeds and win re-election, despite its “incompetence and non-performance”.

    It regretted that bribing religious leaders would not only bring them into disrepute, but also make nonsense of Jonathan’s claim to fight corruption.

    Asking the Southwest to ignore the promise by the President to implement the report of the National Conference, Shehu said while they were not averse to any group supporting any candidate for the rescheduled general elections, it was important to state that the purported endorsement of Jonathan by former Confab conferees from the Southwest was predicated on spurious and utterly dishonest reason.

    Shehu said: “It is necessary to state that all points of the Yoruba agenda that could have favoured the Southwest, in­cluding regional autonomy, restructuring, devolution of power and parliamentary system, could not sail through at the conference.

    “These people knew that though they deceived Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba people, with the ostensible reason, but the real reason for the endorsement was because of their personal economy. Some of them have had their personal finances transformed by way of juicy, but dubious security contracts and handsome cash largesse by the government of Dr. Jonathan at the expense of Nigerian people.

    “We consider it asinine that any group can predicate its support for Dr. Jonathan on his promise to respect any agreement. The antecedents of Dr. Jonathan speak eloquently of a serial promise-breaker, unreliable keeper of gentlemanly agreement and unabashed turncoat.

    “It would be recalled that the first real show of Dr. Jonathan’s immense capacity for not keeping to pacts was when he, in 2010, conveniently walked away from his party’s North/South zoning arrangement, of which he was signatory to, with indescribable villainy.

    “There is virtually a litany of reports from committees, which he empanelled, that have remained unimplemented in his four-year presidency thus far.  Dr. Jonathan, as President, who refused to assent to the Bill that will empower Nigerians with disabilities, is doubtful would ever contemplate supporting better life for Nigerians without disabilities.

    “It is a known fact that of all the four hundred and ninety two (492) members of the National confab, none was elected by the people. A comparison of this arrangement with that of the Constituent Assembly of 1977 revealed a conference that had most of the members elected by the people and which naturally brought on the 1979 Constitution.

    “We are appalled that despite the pretences of members of this group to democracy, they thought it fit to attempt to stampede a nation to giving assent to a piece of document that bore the imprimatur of a negligible minority. Truth be told, the conferees of the confab were not representatives of the people.

    “It is on the basis of the foregoing that we believe that the purported endorsement of Dr. Jonathan by members of this group was infernal, jejune, and meaningless. We urge the people of the Southwest to discountenance this as another distraction from the stable of the utterly despicable, but desperate regime of Dr. Jonathan”.