Presidential candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Gen Muhammadu Buhari, has slammed the Electoral Commission (INEC) saying it has reneged on its allegiance to the Constitution and by extension to the people.
He accused the electoral body of pandering to Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even as he stepped up his consultations with Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC) yesterday on modalities for joint votes protection and mandate defence at the presidential elections coming up this Saturday.
The Director-General of the ANPP Presidential Campaign Organization, Dr. Sule Hamma and the Secretary General of the organization, Alhaji Buba Galadima met on Saturday with the Vice President. Galadima confirmed the meeting to ThisDay even as we learnt that Atiku and Buhari are scheduled to meet personally on Tuesday just before the commencement of the Coalition of Opposition Candidates (COC)the same day in Abuja.
It was learnt that Atiku and the presidential candidate of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Governor Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa may be attending the COC meeting of Tuesday.
Although Atiku was absent at the first opposition meeting held last Thursday, he was said to have given his endorsement quietly.
Apart from working towards arriving at a consensus candidate for the apex office, the group is believed to working on strategies to ensure effective opposition policing of the 120,000 polling stations across the country, using credible and trustworthy agents that cannot be easily bought over by the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It was reasoned that the parties can only achieve this objective when they are working in concert with one another and pooling resources together.
Vice-Chairman of the Publicity Committee of ANPP Presidential Committee, Mr. Osita Okechukwu confirmed to ThisDay that the Professor Utomi-led committee on opposition collaboration was seriously workinmg on “how the opposition camp can thwart the rigging plans of PDP” particularly at the crucial presidential elections. For instance, he believes that if the opposition is able to muster enough resources to mobilize calibre agents in all the polling booths it would be extremely difficult for the ruling party to engage in any foul play successfully.
Okechukwu revealed that a group of influential politicians and leaders are presently working hard to break down the wall dividing Atiku, Buhari and the PPA candidate, Governor Orji Uzor Kalu to enable them vanquish the PDP candidate, Governor Umaru Yar’Adua on Saturday.
On the conduct of last Saturday’s polls by INEC Buhari queried why it had to delay distribution of materials and allegedly
handover the result sheets to PDP. He accused the electoral body of substantially violating the Electoral Act.
Buhari therefore appealed to all the candidates who
were shortchanged to carefully assemble their
evidences as the judiciary has refused to be part of
the culture of impunity being mischievously enthroned
in Nigeria .
He however commended Nigerians for their commitment to democracy and desire to change the country to a better society by turning out en masse for the elections.
In a statement signed by Osita Okechukwu, Buhari was
quoted as being impressed that in spite of the barrage
of propaganda and �all manner of inducement by the
PDP the elections reflected a referendum of “a failed regime� stressing that it is historic that the people rejected a regime whose metaphor is squandermania, ineptitude and
manipulation of election result.