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  • Okocha to Secondus, Sekibo: You can’t join APC through back door

    Okocha to Secondus, Sekibo: You can’t join APC through back door

    Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus,  former Minister of Transportation, Abiye Sekibo and other leaders of the PDP in the state that they cannot join the APC through the back door.

    The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party in Rivers State, Sir Tony Okocha handed down the warning in Abuja yesterday while reacting to Thursday’s media briefing by some PDP chieftains who declared support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Simlaye Fubara.

    Present at the PDP briefing include Dr. Abiye Sekibo, Uche Secondus; former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Austin Opara; Celestine Omehia, former deputy governor of the state, Tele Ikuru; Senator Lee Maeba; and former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Dr. Gabriel Pidomson, among others.

    Read Also; FULL LIST: African presidents, Heads of State below 50 years of age

    Okocha, who described the Sekibo-led PDP group as crisis merchants, said if the group felt concerned, it would have been honourable for them to seek solutions to the problems rather than constituting themselves as snitches and fifth columnists in the state.

     Okocha said that the APC is open to accepting new members from the other parties into its fold based on the mandate to his committee by the APC National Working Committee (NWC), but warned that such a move must be done legally.

    Faulting the pledged support for the President during the press conference in Port Harcourt, Okocha said, “If the mid-night pseudo lovers of Mr President as shown in the text under critique now are convinced that  President is abundantly fit and proper to preside over Nigeria and that his ten months in office has provided Renewed Hope for an eldorado for Nigerians and choose to recant their hitherto unsavoury and unprintable toxics against  President, they should follow the proper channels allowed for porting or decamping to a new party.

  • PDP chair Secondus attacks Buhari on insecurity

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has bemoaning the spate of killings and kidnappings across country, saying that President Muhammadu Buhari’s “incompetence” in the handling of governance was taking a huge toll on the nation.

    Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Secondus observed that the frightening security situation has continued to raise concerns among prominent Nigerians, including clerics and monarchs.

    He said the situation has got to a point where the citizenry are raising questions as to whether the country still has a Commander-In-Chief.

    Urging the President to seek quality advice on the security challenges, Secondus said: “While the Presidency continues to argue that there exists government in our country today, what obtains in reality is different.

    “The level of bloodletting occasioned by the barrage of criminalities across the country can only be happening in a country without government.

    “Things got even worse as the remaining goodwill of the people on this government vanished after it arm-twisted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into tampering with the will of the people in the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Read also: 9th Senate: PDP plots Goje-Ekweremadu ticket

    “There is no evidence of the presence of government in this country as crimes of all kinds are being committed all over the country and Nigerians have never lived in such great fear and trembling for their lives.

    “From Kaduna to Zamfara, Benue to Taraba, Plateau, Lagos to Enugu etc., bloodletting is continuing unabated.

    “Even the President’s home state of Katsina has lost about eight local government areas to bandits, not to talk of the North East.

    “Everyone holding public office must know that one day, they will be held accountable for their actions.”

    Secondus deplored the incessant killings in Kaduna State, where a British humanitarian aide worker, Faye Mooney and others were shot dead by gunmen last week.

    He blamed the heightened insecurity in Kaduna State on what he described as “provocative leadership” existing in the state, which he said is being indirectly encouraged by the Federal Government.

    “The situation has deteriorated to the extent that this country can no longer protect the lives of international aid workers who are here to help us clear our mess.

    “The senseless, continuous bloodletting in Kaduna State should be blamed on the type of provocative leadership existing in that state and indirectly encouraged by the federal government.

    “The ‘body bag’ governor in the state does not seem to know how to engender peace among the people. His actions and utterances facilitate instead of ameliorating the ill feelings among the people.”

  • Zamfara: PDP faults AGF on letter to INEC

    Calls for free, fair, transparent poll

     

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has faulted the Attorney General for the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on his letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In the said letter, Malami had advised INEC to postpone the general elections in Zamfara State, to accommodate a ruling of the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal, purportedly directing the electoral body to allow the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) field candidates for the upcoming elections.

    INEC had barred the state chapter of the APC from fielding candidates for elections for submitting names of its candidates after the expiration of the deadline prescribed by the Electoral Act.

    However, after series of legal rigmarole initiated by the leadership of the Zamfara APC, the Appeal Court purportedly gave the go ahead to the chapter to submit the lists of its candidates to INEC for the governorship and state assembly elections scheduled to hold on March 2.

    But in a swift reaction on Thursday, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus described the AGF’s letter to INEC as part of APC’s design to arm-twist INEC and the judiciary to take illegal actions in their favour.

    Addressing a news conference at the Legacy House, the party’s Abuja campaign office, Secondus said what the AGF was seeking is not backed by law.

    According to the party chair, the AGF is an interested party in this matter and thus has no moral right to advice INEC.

    Secondus said, “The inability of the APC to field candidates due to self-inflicted crisis when other parties did within the stipulated period for the election is not covered by section 38 & 39 of the Electoral Act 2010 which the AGF is relying on for his dubious advice.

    “I, therefore, call on INEC to follow the dictates of the law and continue in its plan to achieve a credible election”, adding that the 2019 general elections, more than any other in the past, provide an opportunity for the country to get on the right path.

    “The challenge that we now face is one of expectation. Those entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the expression of the people’s will is made manifest, have time and again failed to demonstrate good faith. We expect better than we are getting,

    “A sick narrative has emerged, one of systemic and systematic rigging, manipulation of the true record of the voters register and a cabal you can no longer trust with the trajectory and growth of our democracy and nation.

    “This is the evidence of bad faith by those managing the election and the government of the day”, Secondus said.

    The party chair accused the electoral body of failing to clean up its register of voters before it published same, against the practice under previous INEC administrations.

    He also faulted the voting arrangements put in place by the electoral body whereby accreditation and voting will go on simultaneously.

    It’s a departure from arrangements in previous elections where voters were first accredited and allowed to vote only after the end of the accreditation exercise.

    According to the party chairman, the new continuous voting regime this was meant to facilitate multiple voting by APC members in their numbers.

    Also, Secondus alleged that the voter register compiled by INEC contained data of dead voters for whom Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) were printed and distributed nationwide.

    Quoting official government data, the party chairman said the gross death rate in the country stood at 12.5 per 1000 lives, adding that from available evidence, over 1,050,051 dead persons would vote in the upcoming elections.

    “The decision that dead voters will cast ballots has been taken by INEC and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    The idea of ghost voters is consistent with the nature of this virtual President.

    “There has been a coordinated approach to register foreigners as voters, mainly from Niger and Cameroon. That is why INEC has established so many polling units along the borders with Cameroon and Niger. That is despite the fact that population data did not justify the move”, Secondus said.

    Read Also: APC, PDP in two-horse race: How the states may vote

    Speaking on Saturday’s presidential election, the party chairman cited multiple “intelligence sources” available to the PDP showing that the APC, in conjunction with INEC, through the ICT situation room, have concluded plans to manipulate the outcome of the election.

    He said, “By deliberately corrupting the INEC voter’s register to induce voter suppression in PDP strongholds and operations areas with the aim of disenfranchising at least four voters through corrupting of their four names on the voters register.

    “The strategy is to create artificial problems wherein at least four registered voters can be disfranchised in PDP strong hold areas. The target is to adequately limit the estimated members of PDP who would want to vote in their areas.

    “There is a deliberate ploy to disrupt Internet services and jam cell tower coverage ostensibly to prevent Nigerians from covering the elections via social media.

    “There is also confirmed intelligence showing that critical PDP players in this election are to be earmarked, arrested and quarantined to a particular location to give way for the elections to be rigged.

    “The other intelligence available to the party also shows that some uniforms of para-military and military operatives, particularly the Army and Police, have been produced in large numbers for use by civilians during the voting period.

    “To send faulty card reader machines to certain identified PDP strongholds and record a deliberate slow screening of voters to frustrate and discourage them.

    “They have packaged large sums of foreign currency to induce voters and security and INEC operatives.

    “We also have on good authority that all the electoral frauds via the ICT, which the APC has mapped out, are being coordinated by a highly placed government official (body bag) with the help of some foreigners inside an apartment in the government House and other locations in Kaduna state.

    “We have deep respect for our security personnel who are sworn to protect and defend our constitution and the integrity of our nation. President Buhari administration however, is determined to subvert the impartiality of our security agencies.

    “It has recently moved personnel to areas along the borders, where they will be employed to create violence, stuff ballots and aid non-Nigerians to vote in a predetermined manner”.

    Secondus also alleged extravagant use of money at APC campaigns through advertisements, billboards and the use of state media as an instrument of the party, adding that the use of public resources for partisan purposes is unprecedented.

    The chairman similarly faulted the decision by INEC not to transmit election results electronically, saying this was caused by the refusal of President Buhari to sign the law that would have made this possible.

     

  • Atiku to military: Don’t dabble into election

    Presidential flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abubakar Atiku on Tuesday cautioned the military against dabbling into the general election, slated February 16 and March 2.

    Atiku gave the warning in Jalingo -the Taraba State capital during the PDP presidential and governorship rally in the northeastern state.

    “The military signed to defend and protect the country, not to defend an individual, as no person is a god.

    “Their (military’s) quick response should be to tackle Boko Haram in Borno and the entire northern region where they are terrorising Nigerians.

    “Muhammadu Buhari, please don’t use the military to terrorise the states you don’t like. The military are to protect the territorial integrity of the country,” he said.

    Atiku also told the police, the State Security Service (SSS) and other security agencies to be neutral during the polls.

    He said: “The police and the SSS have been reformed, so we believe they will be neutral during the general election; they will not side any individual.

    Read Also: Middle Belt Forum denies endorsing Atiku

    “The job of the security is to protect us and ensure there is law and order in the land. They are not to interfere in electoral matters; so, they shouldn’t tell us bull shit.”

    Atiku said his rally in Taraba State was just “homecoming,” adding it was the first time the people of the northeastern region would be having a presidential candidate. “Will you go and vote someone from another region?” he asked.

    Atiku said the major problem of Taraba and the northeastern states was insecurity. “I will provide security,” he pledged.

    He also promised to complete the hydroelectric power project on the Mambilla Plateau, Sardauna local government area of Taraba state.

    “Everything about the Mambilla hydropower project, so far, is a scam. I will reconstruct it and every Nigerian will benefit from it, if you elect me as Nigeria’s president,” Atiku said, adding: “all the federal roads shall be taken care of; the natural resources in the country shall be tapped for job creation.”

    The PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a credible election, without taking sides.

    “With the crowd I have seen here, Taraba State is 100 percent PDP. All the people watching this rally on the television, Instagram, Twitter, Google and WhatsApp will agree that Taraba is PDP.

    “INEC should be very careful in their responses. This election cannot be rigged. If you rig it, you (INEC) will invite crisis, and we don’t want crisis.

    “If INEC can conduct free and fair polls, the people will accept whoever emerges, and the country will be peaceful, and that is what we want,” Secondus said.

    Governor Darius Ishaku, who is the PDP candidate in Taraba, assured Atiku of victory, saying: “Taraba is for Atiku.”

    “I have toured the nook and cranny of Taraba for my reelection campaign. And everywhere I went to campaign, the people all know Atiku. This is because he had traversed the State during the Gongola days.

    Atiku will give the people jobs, tackle poverty and revitalise Nigeria’s economy. The APC has failed Nigerians and Atiku is the answer. Atiku, carry go,” Ishaku said.

  • Onnoghen: Buhari orchestrating destruction of democracy, says Secondus

    People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus has accused the Federal Government of orchestrating the destruction of the nation’s democracy.

    This, according to the party chairman, was part of the “nefarious” agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the February presidential election.

    Secondus, who was reacting to the arraignment of the Justice Onnoghen before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, said that the President and his team were arm twisting the Tribunal to force the CJN out of office.

    In a statement Wednesday by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, the PDP chair said the APC was afraid that an independent Judiciary will obstruct its rigging plan.

    He described the reported by the government on the CJN to vacate his seat as provocative, saying that it has left no one, including the global democracies in doubt that indeed democratic rule has been suspended in Nigeria to pave way for dictatorship.

    “The blackmail, the frame up and the orchestration of fictitious figures in the CJN’s bank accounts by the government and their agents are all deliberate ploy to destroy the envious career of a man because of desperation for power

    “What they are trying to do is not only illegal but a recipe for anarchy and breakdown of rule of law and must be vehemently resisted”, the party chair said.

    Secondus said it’s now very glaring that President Buhari and his ruling APC have concluded plans to plunge the country into a major crisis in frustration for their apparent inevitable rejection by Nigerians.

    He noted that trying to force the head of an arm of government out of office without following the clearly laid down procedures amounted to breach of rules and an invitation to major national crisis.

    The party chair urged the CJN to disregard calls for his resignation and remain in office as the constitution guiding the operations of government is very clear on how he can be removed.

    “President Buhari’s inclination to non-democratic behavour is now apparent as he moves to muscle all other arms of government as well as ingredients of democracy”, he added.

  • INEC chair lacks courage to conduct free, fair poll – Secondus

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday accused  the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of putting  President Muhammadu Buhari under  undue campaign pressure.

    Secondus said those he called  power grabbers in the ruling party were bent on returning Buhari to power for their interest.

    The PDP chairman spoke in Abuja on Friday while inaugurating the party’s 27 presidential election campaign committees at the party’s campaign office.

    Secondus said with what Nigerians and the international community are witnessing around the President lately, it’s apparent that he is tired but they would not let him be.

    “There is no way this President can cope given what we are witnessing, added to this is the incompetence in leadership Nigerians have been seeing in the last three years,” the party chairman said.

    Prince Secondus warned that Nigerians are not ready to take anything less than free, fair and credible poll in the upcoming elections.

    He said, “Our fear is that the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, lacks the will and courage to ignore the pressure from the APC to conduct free and transparent election.

    “But he should know that he would be held responsible for any fall out from a rigged election.”

    The opposition party chairman reiterated his call on the new Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu to clear the mess left behind by his predecessor by running a professional and responsible police force.

    Prince Secondus also explained why the PDP would continue to protest the membership of Mrs Amina Zakari as a National Commissioner in INEC.

    Restating the call for Zakari’s resignation, the party chair said the PDP would continue to oppose her continued stay at the electoral body because “we have evidence of what she did in Ekiti and Osun states.”

  • It’s strange Secondus is backing Adebutu, says Kashamu

    The senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kasamu, has described the support of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Uche Secondus for the governorship candidacy of Ladi Adebutu as strange.

    Kashamu, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend against the backdrop of claims that he had withdrawn from the Ogun State governorship race, said his interest was for the PDP to win the March 2 poll.

    He said: “It is strange that the national leadership of the PDP, led by Prince Uche Secondus, is claiming that Ladi (Adebutu) is the governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun, despite the fact that he emerged through an illegal process. The PDP leaders are the ones making a mistake. They are respectable people but there are no two governorship candidates of the PDP in Ogun. It is the exco of Adebayo that is known to the law. That is why the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is relating with his exco.”

    The senator noted that based on existing court judgment, he remained the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State.

    He urged his supporters to remain steadfast and keep the hope alive.

    Kashamu said: “I have never issued any statement that I stepped down for Adebutu. What I said was that we should all join hands and work together for the victory of the party. If the court rules that Ladi is the candidate eventually, I will work for him; if the court upholds my victory, I expect him to work for me. But the most important thing is that we should all work together for the victory of the PDP.”

    The senator added that INEC recognised him as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.

    He said he would gladly allow his supporters to work for Adebutu, if the court rules against him.

    “I will not step down unless the court rules otherwise,” Kashamu said.

  • PDP, Secondus knock Buhari

    The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its National Chairman, Prince UcheSecondus, yesterday condemned moves to prosecute the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen for alleged  failure to declare his assets .

    The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan accused the Buhari Presidency of plotting to destabilise and annex the judiciary ahead of the coming elections.

    He also alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a cabal at the Presidency were hounding Justice Onnoghen.

    The plot, according to the PDP, was to get the CJN removed with a view to causing a constitutional crisis, instilling fear in judicial officers ,and paving  the way for foisting a pliable CJN that will do their bidding on electoral matters.

    “This development is a clear recipe for anarchy and a huge crisis that is capable of fracturing our justice system and derail our democracy as it portends a prelude to a total clamp down on institutions of democracy and rule of law in our country,” Ologbondiyan said.

    It urged all Nigerians, the United Nations and other international bodies to unite in the defence of our democracy, especially at this very critical time in our political development.

    The opposition party asked President Buhari to allow Police Inspector General Ibahim Idris to go on retirement if the President was committed to cleaning up the system.

    In a separate reaction, national chairman of the party, Secondus accused the APC of attempting to  destroy the  judiciary, barely 30 days to the general election, adding it’s a desperate move to manipulate and thwart the will of Nigerians.

    Addressing party supporters at a rally in Jos, Plateau State, Secondus said the APC is afraid of an independent judiciary because of its agenda to rig the elections.

    The party chair stated that Nigerians are ready and determined to stop the APC, adding that no amount of threats and harassment will deter the people from effecting what he called inevitable change.

    Opposition parties plan one million-man march

    The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) said yesterday it was planning a one-million-man march to protest the planned trial of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    Spokesperson for the CUPP , Imo Ugochinyere, said in a statement in Abuja that the  protest was aimed at  saving  the  judiciary and Nigeria’s democracy.

    He said: “The Presidency had during the appointment of Justice Onnoghen shown its card that it was not comfortable with his appointment hence it was delayed until President Buhari was hurried out of the country due to perennial illness.

    “Justice Onnoghen has since shown that he is fair, firm, and able to do justice and will not succumb to the pressures of a Presidency that is planning to rig an election as the only hope of winning reelection following their rejection by the Nigerian people.

    “This dastardly move by the Presidency is the last desperate acts of an outgoing government to blackmail the CJN out of office and bring in a rogue judge to allow APC’s rigging.”

    He enjoined Onnoghen not to resign for the sake of the nation’s democracy.

    He said, “The trumped-up charges will fall like a pack of cards like those filed against the Senate President, Dr. BukolaSaraki and all the judges whose homes were invaded on October 7, 2016.

    “These acts of desperation are an unequivocal declaration of war on the Nigerian democracy by the Buhari Presidency and the ruling APC.”

     

  • Secondus alleges plots to arrest Atiku, Obi, Saraki, Dogara

    •You’re flowing stream of fake news, says Presidency

    PEOPLE’S Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus has raised the alarm, alleging plots by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest some key leaders of the opposition party on trump up charges.

    Secondus listed the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; his running mate, Peter Obi; Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara and the party’s other leaders as some of those marked for arrest.

    But, the Presidency denied the reports claiming that the Buhari-led government ordered raid on the home of PDP presidential candidate’s son and the alleged blockage of the Obi’s bank accounts and his family.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the reports are manifestation of the PDP’s growing expertise in fake news.

    He called on the public to disregard the reports.

    The statement reads: “The story about the raid ‘ordered by Buhari-led government’ on the home of PDP presidential candidate’s son and the fairy tale on the alleged blockage of the bank accounts of the running mate and his family are both untrue, and should be dismissed as just another manifestation of the PDP’s growing expertise in fake news.

    “Nigerians must be becoming wary by now, of a political party with absolutely nothing to offer in the coming elections and has instead, transformed into a knight in shining armor, slaying the truth.

    “In this so-called transformation, PDP has changed into nothing but to a ceaselessly flowing stream of fake news.

    “It is impossible to find in Nigeria today, anyone propagating fake news more than the PDP.

    “Our advice to Nigerians is: ignore them.”

    In a statement yesterday by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, Secondus warned that the country would explode any moment the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu continued with such impunity.

    Alleging plots to prefer frame up charges against the PDP chieftains, the main opposition party chairman warned that the country is presently sitting on gunpowder.

    Prince Secondus cautioned the Acting EFCC chairman, saying that he won’t get away with the hatchet job he has taken upon himself by using instruments of state to harass and intimidate opposition figures.

    Regretting that Magu has made himself a willing tool for oppression, Secondus said available intelligence indicated that the EFCC chairman was working in cahoots with some prominent chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “They are presiding over clandestine meetings and developing strategies for the APC, which is aimed at caging and crushing critical leaders of the opposition,” Secondus said.

    The party chairman said aside arrest and detention of the targeted opposition leaders, their family members and business associates have also been lined up for intimidation and harassment, including freezing their business interests and their bank accounts.

    Read also: 2019: Knocks for Obasanjo over anti-Buhari comment

    He described as an afterthought fabrication, the EFCC’s statement that the two sons of Atiku, whose residence was raided by the commission operatives on Saturday, were not the target of the raid.

    Secondus noted the security search on Atiku on November 11, when he arrived in the country from Dubai, saying the country has gone into full blown dictatorship.

    “After that embarrassment and harassment aimed at intimidating the candidate and nothing incriminating was found on him, no apology was extended to him as a former number two citizen.

    “They followed it up with the freezing of the bank accounts of our vice presidential candidate as well as that of his friends and family members as part of a large scheme to keep the party distracted from its focus of regaining power in 2019,” the statement added.

     

     

  • Secondus demands resignation of IG, INEC chair

    •Atiku to Buhari: sign Electoral Act Amendment into law

    PEOPLE’S Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus has demanded the immediate resignation of Inspector General Mr. Ibrahim Idris and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

    Secondus, who spoke at PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, said the party has lost confidence in the capacity of the IG and the INEC Chairman to guarantee free and fair elections.

    He insisted that both the IG and the INEC aided the All Progressives Congress (APC) in rigging the last Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections.

    Secondus warned that the PDP would not accept the outcome of rigged elections, adding that there would be a national crisis, if the 2019 elections were rigged.

    Also speaking at the event, the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubabar, expressed his readiness to engage President Muhammadu Buhari in a public debate on key national issues in the 2019 elections.

    His speech was interrupted with a snide remark from an unidentified voice who asked if Atiku was referring to “Jubril”, an alleged non-existent body double of the President. The mischief has been trending in the social media space lately.

    Atiku, however, replied the voice, asking: “Which Jubril? Is it the one in Sudan or the one in Abuja?”, a remark that drew an outburst from the party faithful present in the hall.

    The opposition presidential candidate called on the President to sign into law, the Electoral Act amendment which is on his desk, if he is really interested in the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.

    Atiku said signing the Electoral Act Amendment into law was necessary because elections were governed by laws and that good laws were required to ensure credible elections.

    “Such laws constrain the behaviour of all who are involved in the electoral process, including the candidates and their supporters, security agents and the electoral umpire (in this case the INEC)”, Atiku said.

    He said if elected, his administration would enthrone a policy of strict adherence to fiscal responsibility in the conduct of government business.

    Atiku said: “Our aim is to work very hard and collectively liberate our nation from the shackles of hunger, starvation, deprivation, bloodletting, killings and division, which bedevil us today. We must all work hard to return our nation to the path of harmony, peace and progress.

    “We need to be disciplined in our campaign because we are facing a desperate APC. The coming election may be the toughest presidential election since the return of democracy.

    “The APC has chosen personal attacks over issues, instead of campaigning on achievements. My campaign will be focused on issues not character assassination and personal attacks.

    “We should be telling Nigerians what we want to do differently to get Nigeria working again. We must be vigilant at the polling units. We must demand the removal of the IGP. Elections are governed by laws and rules guiding the behaviour of all those involved.”

    Senate President Bukola Saraki, who also spoke at the event, urged party leaders and stakeholders to remain united and strong as the elections draw nearer.

    The party inaugurated a 154-member Campaign Council after the NEC meeting, with Secondus named as chairman of the council.

    Atiku is co-chairman of the council and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is co deputy chairman.

    Other members of the council are the governors elected on the platform of the party, the party’s principal officers of the National Assembly, all the presidential aspirants that contested with Atiku, former ministers, former principal officers of the National Assembly, members of the PDP National Working Committee and others.