Jonathan campaign accuses Buhari, INEC of smuggling results

By Ahmed Abubakar

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhar has again been accused by President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign directorate of complicity with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to smuggle his certificate to the fold of the commission.

Making the disclosure, Director Media of the PDP presidential Campaign, Chief Femi Fanni-Kayode, told journalists that, “on Tuesday, Buhari made a shocking and belated disclosure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has his documents”.

Fani-Kayode said though Buhari was not being exact on what documents are with the commission “but it is very clear that this is yet another squalid attempt to give the Nigerian people the impression that INEC has his certificate. If this is true, it represents a somersault from his original position which was that INEC has his affidavit and it once again reveals General Buhari for what he is”.

“With this latest antic, General Buhari is obviously trying to smuggle a newly acquired certificate into INEC through the backdoor. If this is true and if INEC allows such a thing to happen, it would put a serious question mark on its impartiality and credibility. It would mean that it has collected his newly-acquired certificate, 40 days outside the stipulation of the law”, he warned.

“We say this because Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act says INEC “shall within 7 days of the receipt of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency…”

He argued that the renewed vigour in Buhari’s arrogance attest to the fact that there is a seeming collaboration between him and INEC when he said, “this is the first time, INEC by law has got those documents and they said they have got them. So anybody who has different view should go to court. So let them remain there”.

“The Electoral body must come clean on this matter; otherwise we will be compelled to pass a no-confidence vote in it. If INEC is complicit in the desperate and despicable attempt to extricate General Buhari, without compliance with the provisions of the law, from this lingering embarrassment, we will have no other choice than to harbour the suspicion and fear that the electoral body is already compromised and can lend itself to the ungodly agenda of truncating our victory when our candidate wins.

“We also want the election observers to keep watch of the unfolding events regarding General Buhari’s qualification or otherwise. In other countries, it is about obeying the rule of law and not about protecting the political interest of an individual, especially since a free, fair and credible election is not about the day of voting alone but also the processes leading up to it” he stated.