31st January, 2011
General Muhammadu Buhari, (retd) the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), has picked Lagos based Christian cleric and political activists, Pastor Tunde Bakare as his running mate for the 2011 presidential election.
In a statement by Yinka Odumakin, Buhariâ€
“We have seen the uncommon enthusiasm of our people to register to vote in spite of the many challenges of the exercise, that speaks to their desire to do what Tunisians and Egyptians are doing on the streets through the ballot box in April.
There is a compelling need to give them a ticket that will make all their sacrifices worth the while and that is what we have done†he said.
In the statement, the presidential candidate of CPC also condemned the violence that has led to loss of lives in certain parts of the country and inability of government to respond appropriately.
“It is sad that these dastardly acts are taking place without any coordinated response from the government to guarantee the safety of lives and property.
A responsible leadership must not agonise over the virtual breakdown of security in parts of the country, it must organize the security system to deal with the situation first and create the atmosphere for social justice to flourish to end the conditions that make citizens to let loose against each other”.
He however tasked people in the areas where the violence are prevalent like Borno State to resolve to live together peacefully.
The retired General also dismissed allegations by Sule Lamido, the Governor of Jigawa State that his supporters were behind series of text messages circulating across the Northern part of the country asking people to vote for only a true Muslim leader in the 2011 elections.
“I condemn any attempt to spread hate among Nigerians but I suspect this may be a mischief from our opponents who cannot face issues but dwell only on weeping up emotions. And it may appear that the governor may be aware of those behind this hatchet job.
“Those who don’t want the progress of our people have spent fortunes over the years to raise silly propaganda about me .I have been around for some years and vie challenged them to bring out one person I ever discriminated against based on faith but they are yet to take up the challenge. They should continue to tell lies about me just as I will continue to tell the truths about them”, said Buhari who added that such accusations are the kind of propaganda that has been used against him in the past.
He however said rather than propaganda, the Peoples Democratic Party must now be ready to answer questions about its stewardship in Nigeria in the past 12 years as campaign for general elections get underway: “We will force them to discuss issues. They must explain why poverty has increased from 45 per cent in 1999 to 76 percent in 2011 in spite of unprecedented revenue under the PDP Government. Nigerians want to know how we got to a situation where 98 per cent of our children now fail NECO examinations whereas we had 54 per cent pass in WAEC examinations in 1999.The Global Financial Integrity recently reported that an average of $15b left the shores of Nigeria in illicit transfers in the eight years it surveyed under PDP rule”.
—Oluokun Ayorinde/Abuja
