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The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has expressed his frustration over the campaign of calumny by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against him, dismissing allegations propagated by the ruling party over his health, his stewardship at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and the controversy over his failure to submit photocopies of his academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Buhari, who spoke on Sunday at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, alongside the APC governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, and former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, described as unfortunate the amount of energy dissipated by PDP on his health and academic credentials.
He wondered how the PDP got the impression that he had prostate cancer, when all he had recently was a cold that did not deter him from his campaign rallies across the country.
“This desperation of misinformation that is being passed around will do nobody any good because our minds are being taken away from the serious issues of corruption and incompetence by the PDP.
“How they got the impression that I was sick, I do not know although I got a cold and that did not stop me from going through my schedule. A national daily reported that I was to jet out for a medical check-up yesterday, but here I am.
“I was in Nasarawa and Benue States yesterday. Tomorrow, I am going to be in two states. The day after tomorrow, in two more states. I am doing two states per day. How they got the impression that I was sick, I do not know although I had a cold, but that did not stop me from going through my schedule,” said a visibly irritated Buhari.
Buhari insisted that he was as fit as a fiddle, adding that it was not true that he was planning to jet out of the country for medical treatment as was reported in the media.
Still on the document flying around regarding his alleged ill health, Buhari said: “I don’t know of this desperation. The issue we are telling Nigerians is that of corruption in this country for the last 16 years under PDP has literally destroyed this country.
“That is the issue, so what does my health have to do with that? And documents from ABUTH (Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital) that have been put in the papers, on tweeter, that I am sick are forged. This desperation is beyond my understanding.”
When asked to make a categorical statement on his health, Buhari jokingly asked the reporter, “How old are you, 50 years? I am telling you if we go to the field, you would not last the time I will last in the field.”
Buhari also responded to the accusations by the PDP that he did not have the required secondary school certificate to contest the presidential election, describing it as the height of misinformation and desperation.
The former military head of state added that there was no basis for the allegation of fraud levelled against him by the ruling party regarding his management of the affairs of the defunct PTF.
Buhari said he had contested three times under same rules set by the INEC where the basic educational qualifications had applied.
“Why didn’t Nigerians ask when I contested three times under the same rules set by the INEC whether the basic educational qualification had been met and I was allowed to contest all these elections because my certificate was in order.
“There are individuals who wrote to the United States War College and the college responded and it was published by some of your papers.
“So really, this desperation for misinformation that is being passed around will do nobody any good because our minds are being diverted from the serious issues of corruption and incompetence by the PDP,” he said.
Buhari explained that he had decided to speak on the allegations in order to bring to an end the distractions being caused by the continuous misinformation.
Regarding allegations of fraud during his stewardship at the PTF, Buhari said there was nothing to respond to since former President Olusegun Obasanjo who investigated him had given him a clean bill of health.
“There was no fraud in PTF, there was an investigation and General Obasanjo has answered that questions. He confirmed that there was an investigation and the report was brought to him and there was nothing on ground as far as my management and chairmanship of the PTF were concerned.
“So what else can I say? the person who did the investigation has cleared me so what else can I say?” he asked.
Buhari expressed concern over the state of the Nigerian economy, alleging that the country was broke, adding that most civil servants were not paid their salaries before the Christmas holiday.
“Well, the country is broke now. How many states could not pay their workers’ salaries? Even in December, most families were hungry during Christmas because they had not been paid their salaries.
“Yet, they are talking about my health instead of paying the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the APC has warned that it will neither accept an interim government nor a postponement of next month’s elections as being advocated by certain individuals, saying the elections must hold as scheduled on February 14th and 28th.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party warned that any attempt to scuttle the polls in preference for any other arrangement would be resisted by all available constitutional means.
“We are aware that those who are not comfortable with the turning of the political tide in favour of the opposition ahead of the elections are scheming to abort a possible victory for our party, through either an interim government or the postponement of the elections.
“These enemies of Nigeria include those who are worried by the strong anti-corruption stance of our party and its avowed commitment to good governance, and those who favour the status quo of anything goes, bad governance and massive corruption that have left Nigerians deeply pauperised and traumatised,” it said.
APC said those who may consider the two scenarios of interim government and postponement of the elections as outlandish should consider the published but yet-unrefuted statement by one Deji Adeyanju, said to be an official in the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe.
The party quoted Adeyanju, who handles Dr. Okupe’s Twitter Account, as saying in a Blackberry Messenger (BBM) statement: “Buhari can never be President of Nigeria. Quote me any day any time. Instead of Buhari to become President of Nigeria, Nigeria would rather break.
“A military coup will even be allowed than for Buhari to become the president of a democratic Nigeria quote me any day, any time.”
It said that since the statement had not been refuted, one could safely conclude that it represents the thinking in the presidency.
“If a citizen is advocating a military coup against a sitting government just to prevent a supposed election victory of the opposition, it is nothing short of treason.
“Yet, the security agencies that have been falling over themselves warning against incendiary and inciting statements have not yet swung into action over this inciting statement. This is not encouraging vis-a-vis the non-partisan stand of the security agencies.
“The truth is that what could well be a Freudian slip by Adeyanju has exposed the depth of panic and desperation in the presidency ahead of next month’s polls.
“This has also confirmed that those who have been canvassing, either openly or otherwise, the options of an interim government or postponement of the elections, are working at the behest of certain forces.”
The party called on Nigerians to be vigilant and be ready to do everything under the law to protect the nation’s democracy, imperfect as it might.
It also alerted the international community to the evil machinations of desperate politicians ahead of the forthcoming general election.
The opposition party challenged the presidency to state its own stand and distance itself from the anarchic and treasonable statement by one of its own on the forthcoming polls.
The party also dismissed as ridiculous the use of discredited PTF report to malign its credible and trusted presidential candidate, Buhari.
A statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the seemingly exhausted and frustrated ruling PDP could hoodwink the Nigerian public in its sickening attempt to tarnish the towering moral stature of its presidential candidate by dredging up a discredited report.
“President Obasanjo who set up this panel to probe Buhari’s tenure at PTF discovered something shocking from the work of the panel,” Shehu said.
He recalled that after reviewing the report, Obasanjo directed the relevant authority to go after those indicted by the report.
Shehu said it was common knowledge that the Haruna Adamu Management Committee was sacked by Obasanjo in March 2000 for alleged incompetence, amidst charges of serious abuse of public trust.
According to him, several members of that committee were indicted and made to refund several hundreds of millions of naira of public funds, which they illegally took from the PTF.
He stressed that anyone under the illusion that it could use “a rotten report to smear Buhari must be living in fantasy”.
He regretted that these desperate tactics would only amount to a disservice to Jonathan and his party, the PDP.
The APC Presidential Campaign advised the Jonathan administration to focus its energy and attention on how to help give the country a new lease of life in the face of grim prospects on the economic front instead of wasting time on the futile efforts to smear its candidate.
Shehu stressed that the PDP administration lacks any iota of credibility
to throw stones at its candidate, who is by all accounts more credible and trusted in the eyes of Nigerians.
