Presidential candidate of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP), Chief Mazi Okwu, has urged Nigerians not to vote for candidates that had in one way or the other contributed to truncating Nigeria’s democracy through military coup.
Okwu, former Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), said in Enugu, that some military leaders who worked against democracy were not worthy to seek the nation’s number one position.
Making specific reference to the presidential candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Major General Mohammed Buhari (rtd), Okwu said Buhari, being a benefactor of a military coup, could be likened to an insurrection against the Constitution, adding that this should deprive him of moral justification to aspire to the exalted position of President.
He said a coup was a crime against Nigerians, adding that no coup plotter should raise his head in public life in any civilised society.
“Though I may be an armed robber, collect money and launder my image, go to Church and be at the front seat and donate millions to the Church; does that stop me from being a cheat? That is the question that I have asked Nigerians. Why must all these military leaders that sabotaged Nigeria and shot themselves to power against our very wishes and with our own tax money, suddenly get empowered, like those who stole our money to build mansions and those who values were added to their profiles because they were minister or Head of State through military coup, want to return to power?,� he said. The presidential candidate who was reminded that the execulision of militry leaders will be agains thte constitutional provision as it will disenfranchise some Nigerians, said that only those who did not hold public office while in active services should be voted for.
He also said that it was not true that Buhari’s coup was circumstantial considering the level of corruption among politicians then, insisting, “I don�t believe that because two wrong can�t make a right”.
He added, “there is no way you can rationalize that. You can�t because we have seen the example of Abacha who made the announcement that disturbed us in 1983, disturbed us early in the morning and said me and my colleagues. By the time he left in 1998, he was the biggest looter of government funds in the history of the whole world”.