Cross section of APC Stalwarts at the rally
The All Progressives Congress, APC has staged a protest rally in Abuja, the Federal Capital Teritory, FCT as a “practical demonstration” of its lack of confidence in the ability or willingness of President Goodluck Jonathan to organise a free and fair election in 2015.
In a statement, signed by Odigie Oyegun, APC’s national chairman, the party said the rally tagged: Salvation Rally, was organised to inform the public of a possible secret understanding between security forces and the presidency to turn a blind eye to the Boko Haram insurgency terrorising North Eastern Nigeria.
Defending its claim, at the rally on Wednesday, the APC said, it is not comprehensible to see local hunters with dane guns and amulets dislodging the dreaded sect in an area “our once proud army, which has distinguished itself in and out of the country, has failed.”
The party said the plan by the president to extend the state of emergency in the three troubled North Eastern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa was aimed at disenfranchising Nigerians who are perceived not likely to vote for Jonathan’s re-election.
“Everything points to the fact that President Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency is aimed at one thing and one thing only: disenfranchisement of persons who are perceived not to be in support of his re-election, especially in the North-Eastern part of the country,” APC claimed.
“As a matter of fact, we have it on good authority that as soon as President Goodluck Jonathan obtains the green light from the National Assembly, there will be no elections in the North-Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. By this singular act, some five million Nigerians will be disenfranchised, making Jonathan’s re-election a foregone conclusion,” the statement added.
The party further described the flaws in the recent distribution of Permanent Voters Cards exercise and continuous registration in 12 states of the Federation by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as a ‘fiasco.’
While INEC blamed the poor service on computer error, the APC said, “The truth of the matter is that the ICT unit of INEC, which is working hands in gloves with the Presidential villa, deliberately corrupted the system in order to disenfranchise voters in APC controlled states.”
“How else do you explain the fact that this same exercise, which had gone fairly well in 24 other states – mostly PDP states – is now a fiasco in Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Niger, Ogun, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara all APC strongholds and with the highest number of registered voters?” the statement said.
The party also said, while no serious individual or significant organisation has been apprehended for stealing 700,000 barrels of crude everyday in Nigeria, “this government has now resorted to stealing from source.”
You would recall that President Jonathan first imposed the state of emergency on the three states in May 2013.
If the National Assembly approves a request of extension sent to it by President Jonathan at the expiration of the current extension on Thursday, it then means that the six-months rule would have been extended thrice.
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