The presidency on Friday said a former
Head of State and three-time presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari (retd.), stood no chance of winning the 2015 general election.
Buhari, during the inauguration of the
Congress for Progressive Change Merger Committee in Abuja on Wednesday,
had said the ongoing merger talks by the major opposition political
parties would determine if he would run for the presidency in 2015.
The Katsina State-born general, who had
earlier said he would not run for presidency in 2015, having failed to
win the election three times, said the merger might make him change his
mind.
However Senior Special Assistant for
Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, told one
of our correspondents on Friday that even if Buhari contested, he would
not win the election.
Okupe said even though the President was
not focused on the 2015 elections yet, Buhari’s ambition could not
ruffle the feathers of the Peoples Democratic Party, which Jonathan
belongs to.
He said, “It is a free country and
anyone can contest any election. Also, anyone can change his or her
mind. If Buhari said he would not contest before and has changed his
mind, he is free to do that. But if someone said he would not contest
and later said he would contest, it shows an inconsistent political
disposition.
“Buhari left government a long time ago.
His ideas and other parameters are archaic. I don’t think he stands a
chance to win the election in 2015 if he decides to contest.”
According to him, the ongoing merger talks among the opposition parties were not capable of intimidating the ruling party.
He said, “Mergers are not a new thing.
We have always had mergers in the political history of this country. But
you need to look at the components of this current merger they are
talking about. They are not a suitable alternative to the PDP. They have
not shown themselves to be suitable alternatives.”
Okupe stated that the PDP was superior to all the parties in the merger talk.
“They don’t have superior programmes or
ideologies. They are not more credible than the PDP. They are not better
than the PDP. They don’t have a credible candidate that can beat PDP’s
candidate. It is obvious that the alliance between the parties will not
work.
“In fact, the merger is an acceptance of
inferiority complex on the part of the parties involved in the merger.
If you look at it critically, the merger is an apparent desire to win
power at all costs. It is not a proper desire.
“The merger shows that the political
parties involved in it lack political support and goodwill. It does not
mean the PDP will rest on its oars, we will keep working hard.”
Responding, the National Publicity Secretary, CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said Buhari was a threat to the PDP.
According to Fashakin, the determination
of the opposition parties to bring the merger into reality was a threat
to the dominance of the PDP.
He said, “For us in the CPC, we are
aware that the persons in charge of the presidency’s propaganda got
their jobs for the mendacious and utterly atrocious missive against the
person of Buhari. Truly, Buhari’s presence has been the major threat to
the misrule of PDP in the last 13 years. Successive PDP regimes have
unleashed humongous deprivations on the people.”
The CPC spokesman stated that Buhari’s performance as military head of state was better when compared with Jonathan’s.
“The 20-month era of strong leadership
espoused what later became known as ‘Buharinomics,’ which simply put,
was an admixture of frugality, probity, respect for contractual
agreements, expunction of all covert or overt attempts at subjugating
the Nigerian economy to world powers and above all, an economic policy
with Nigeria as the centrepiece
“Gratefully, the cluelessness of this
present regime and its high propensity for opacity are already lifting
the veil off the people. The determination of the opposition parties to
bring the merger into reality shall ensure the defeat of the PDP in the
next general elections.”
When SUNDAY PUNCH contacted the
spokesman for the ACN, Mr. Lai Mohammed, for his comments, he said he
would get back to our correspondent, but had yet to do so when this
report was filed.
Earlier, a member of the PDP Board of
Trustees, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, had said the merger plan by
opposition parties would not stop the PDP from emerging victorious in
2015 elections.
Iwuanyanwu described the move as one that would neither pull PDP down nor succeed.
“As a democrat, I should sound a note of
warning, I have read recently about the coming together of some
political parties. They are not coming together on the basis of
ideology. They are coming together because they are afraid that unless
they gang up, PDP will win the elections in 2015. This is a wrong
political calculation.
“I am in PDP, but I believe that
democracy is best practised when there is a very strong opposition.
Democracy without a strong opposition is worthless. They are making a
mistake. They should tell Nigerians what they can do to change
situations, not how to pull PDP down. This is wrong politics.”
The parties involved in the merger have however accused the PDP of frustrating their plan.
Mohammed had said the merger plans had
driven the PDP-led Federal Government to resort to tactics aimed at
tarnishing the image of key opposition leaders.
“These opposition leaders are considered
as constituting a clear and present danger to the electoral fortunes of
the PDP in 2015, hence must be stopped at all costs and by whatever
means,” he said.
PUNCH
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wait and see. PDP will fail.
ReplyDeleteDoyin Okupe has no moral intergrity to tell us that the other parties don't have superior ideologies. What does PDP have to show for the past 13 years of misrule? We are more improvished than when the military left. Any party is better than a thieving, clueless, useless and murderous party like the pdp. They have mortgaged the future of generations yet unborn. Sometimes I wish all this useless leeches can feel the pain of the ordinary man.
ReplyDeletePDP may fail but buhari can't and never will be the president of nigeria
ReplyDeleteAre U̶̲̥̅̊ a learner ?
DeletePDP has already fallen down. And it fall down completely in 2015 GODs willing.
ReplyDeleteI won't vote any born to rule from the north.They'll always use corruption to criticize the govt of the day for their selfish interest.Nepotism,sectionalism and the likes are found among them.HYPOCRATES.It is better to vote a corrupt govt than murderers(harborers and suporters of BH)To me,you've destroyed all your records,what have you done to solve the problem on your door mouth(BH)?How do you think you are competent to solve nign problem?
ReplyDeleteWe all are fed up with PDP. Nigerians are also fed up with RECYCLED AND IDEA/VISION-LESS goons called polictitians. Yet any party whether old or new, that present Buhari as its presidential candidate, should start now to pick the Court it will run to after the 2015 elections! Because he will fail again. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians not to one man who believes he is above every body in his country! If CPC want votes, they should be bold enough to ask Buhari to step aside!
ReplyDeleteBuhari still remain the answer. no person can perform in ASO ROCK no matter how good the person is if this devils (PDP) are still around even if they fail. remember they will turn to strong opposition. diamond to diamond if not collapse is emminent. Buhari fails because the devils in the north doesnt want him not southerners. for those who think north cannot rule again, they should know that north still remain who determine ASO ROCK occupant. GOD will bring Buhari to atleast finish this devils to pave way for good civilians to follow.
ReplyDelete