The Presidency yesterday admitted that
President Goodluck Jonathan met in Lagos with Messers Musiliu
Obanikoro,Jimmy Agbaje and Gani Adams, but denied that the purpose was
to rig today’s elections in Lagos State as alleged by the APC.
Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said “nothing unusual happened”
during the meeting or during his principal’s visit to Lagos ,while
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dismissed the APC allegations as
false.
Abati,reacting in a statement to the
APC allegations said: “ President Jonathan visited Lagos. He arrived on
Thursday and left on Friday. People visited him. So what? Anytime the
President is in Lagos or any part of the country, a lot of people come
to pay homage to him. Nothing unusual happened during his last visit to
Lagos.
“Senator Musiliu Obanikoro’s visit to
the President in Lagos is not something that anybody should use to play
politics. Koro is a Minister of the Federal Republic. He came to see his
boss.”
He also said that he did not see how the
visit of the governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos state, Mr. Jimi
Agbaje, to the President, who is the leader party, should become an
issue.
“Yes, Gani Adams also visited, but so did a lot of other people.” he added
Abati said the APC spokesman was rude and off course to suggest that the President was in Lagos to perfect any plan to rig.
His words: “President Jonathan visited
Lagos. He arrived on Thursday and left on Friday. People visited him. So
what? Anytime the President is in Lagos or any part of the country, a
lot of people come to pay homage to him. Nothing unusual happened during
his last visit to Lagos.”
Abati also said that the President did
not hold meetings with INEC officials, the police, or polling officials
or with anybody who is involved in organizing elections.
“So to say that the President went to
Lagos to supervise the rigging of today’s election is most uncharitable
and cruel,” he said.
He added: “After the presidential
election, the President immediately congratulated Gen. Buhari and the
whole world has commended him for saving Nigeria. President Jonathan’s
sportsmanship, statesmanship and leadership saved this country at that
critical moment.
“He has demonstrated his commitment to
free and fair elections, the rule of law and due process. He has shown
that he is a man of character, honour and integrity. Nigerians generally
are proud of him. He has left a worthy legacy and shown a great
example. That, obviously, is the narrative that Lai Mohammed and his
masters want to change, so they are now cooking up meaningless tales.
“Lai Mohammed should look for another
target and leave the President alone. His fatuous tale does not make any
sense. I repeat: we will like to advise that the APC should just leave
the President alone. President Jonathan was a candidate in the
presidential election; he did not rig the election. Why would he want to
rig tomorrow’s (today’s) elections?”
In a separate statement in Abuja,the
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP,Chief Olisa Metuh, called the
APC allegations unwarranted and unnecessary as they are capable of
raising tension.
He said: “The APC must desist from its
propaganda, lies and false alarms, especially bearing in mind that it
did not win the presidential election on account of such.
“Nigerians are no longer in the mood for
such politics as they have since moved ahead in celebration of the
deepening of our democracy by the PDP-led administration.
“The PDP successfully nurtured democracy
in the last 16 years with attendant benefits to the people.
Unfortunately, concerns are already heightening that the APC may not
sustain this legacy given its disreputable disposition to national
issues and ceaseless resort to propaganda and deceit.
“We are aware that the APC leader and
President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has gone to about 12 states
meeting and campaigning for his party’s candidates and wonder why the
APC should fret about President Goodluck Jonathan’s meeting with our
candidates in Lagos.
“President Jonathan has with the 2015
general elections proven beyond all doubts that he is a true democrat
committed to free, fair and credible elections, a fact for which he has
continued to receive accolades from well-meaning Nigerians and the
international community.
“Finally, we call on Lagosians to
disregard this latest false alert and come out en masse today to
exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right. In the same vein, we
charge INEC and security forces to ensure that the elections are free,
fair and credible not only in Lagos, but also in other states of the
federation”.
Credit: Thenationonlineng
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