10th February, 2011
As more criticisms trail President Goodluck Jonathan’s electioneering campaign, General Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler and the standard bearer of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in the April election, has filed a report against the President before the Commonwealth.
Buhari, who accused the president and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of abuse of power, said the April election and democracy in Nigeria are in jeopardy except the excesses of the government are put in check.
He mentioned the case of the CPC governorship candidate in Nasarawa State, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, who was detained by the police on an allegation of heckling and throwing stones at President Jonathan’s campaign train in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State.
However, Buhari claimed that the information reaching the CPC was that the suspect was not in Nasarawa on the day he allegedly committed the offence and nobody was arrested among the people who claimed Al-Makura sent them to carry out the act.
Accompanied by his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Buhari noted that when Prof. Attahiru Jega was named the Chief Umpire for the next elections, his appointment raised the hope of Nigerians. But with the recent happenings in INEC, the hope may be dashed sooner than later.
Buhari also condemned many hitches recorded during the voter registration exercise.
He noted that no plans have yet been made for elections to hold in the Niger Delta and Mambila Plateau where elections could not hold in 2007 because the areas were crises ridden.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Mrs. Masire Nwanba, who received Buhari and his team in Abuja during a meeting with stakeholders ahead of the elections, said her team was in Nigeria to assess the situation on ground ahead of the polls.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan continued to receive more verbal missiles following his reckless statement in Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital on Tuesday that the ruling party cannot continue to leave Lagos and the Southwest in the hands of rascals.
Responding, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola said that the PDP-led government of Jonathan is bereft of ideas.
Fashola stated that Jonathan’s language was unpresidential, stressing that politics of mudslinging would not win anyone votes at the elections.
“The Lagos voters will not vote on the basis of luck.( a counter jibe at the president). It was on the basis of manifesto of the ACN and the hardwork we have done since 1999 that I came into office,†Fashola stated.
He said the PDP-led Federal Government has a lot of questions to answer in Lagos State, adding that the success of the ACN-led government of the state has given the PDP many sleepless nights for which he has no apology.
ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed also excoriated President Jonathan for his unguarded utterance in Ibadan.
A member of the House of Representatives representing Kosofe Federal Constituency in Lagos State, Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, also berated the president for describing ACN leaders as rascals.
Arguing that recent court judgements had proved that the real rascals are members of Jonathan’s PDP, Alebiosu said the statement was unfortunate.
He said the president should mention who the rascals are.
Bush-Alebiosu said in Ogun and Oyo states, PDP organised parallel primaries which resulted in making the courts the final arbiter in the party’s selection process.