BUHARI SETTING STAGE FOR POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE – PDP

Presidential Campaign Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDPPCO, has accused the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, of setting the stage for a replay of the 2011 post-election violence that claimed the lives of several Nigerians.
The PDP presidential campaign also declared that the APC is kicking against the deployment of soldiers for the general election to enable them have a field day to harass and intimidate voters and unleash violence on the polity once they lose the election.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the director of Media and Publicity of the PDP campaign organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode said it is now very clear to PDP that APC is determined to cause security breaches in the next few weeks.
“This has been confirmed by their vigorous campaign of calumny against the military and their consistent demand that soldiers must not be deployed for security surveillance at the polling booths in the forthcoming elections.”
Fani-Kayode drew the attention of Nigerians and members of the international community to the subtle threat of violence in a statement by General Buhari at the APC stakeholders meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, “General Buhari said that the patience of the APC and its leaders were on test. One wonders what he means by that and what he and his supporters intend to do once that patience runs out. In an AFP news report of Friday, February 6, 2015, he was asked if he would accept the outcome of the presidential election no matter how unfavourable. Listen to his answer: ‘I am not going to lose; so I won’t answer that question.’
“Again, only yesterday, Wednesday, February 18, 2015, in an interview on ARISE Television, General Buhari was asked what his reaction would be if he loses the election. His answer was: ‘We shall see.’”
Fani-Kayode declared that as far as PDP was concerned these were ominous and subtle threats to unleash violence on the Nigerian people and all those that he perceives are his enemies in the event of his losing the election.
“General Buhari, with his characteristic incendiary and inciting statements, has succeeded in inflaming the destructive passion of his supporters in the northern part of the country on many occasions in the past. We recall his unacceptable remarks on May 15, 2012 when he said ‘if what happened in 2011 should happen again in 2015, the dog and the baboon would be soaked in blood.’
“We witnessed the orgy of violence that they unleashed shortly after the announcement of the results of the 2011 presidential election, which the Sheik Lemu Committee, in its report to the Federal Government, said was caused by Buhari’s inflammatory statements.
“We are concerned that the same thing may happen again given General Buhari’s divisive and inciting comments coupled with the APC’s violent disposition.
“What happened in Maiduguri last Monday when General Buhari went there gives cause for concern. His irate supporters burnt down the campaign offices of our party and torched our vehicles. We also saw pictures of some under-age boys carrying lethal weapons such as AK 47 and Dane guns. This is irresponsible and dangerous. The question must be asked: are we running elections or going for war?
“The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation hereby declares unequivocally that the sordid killing of youth corpers or anyone else must not be repeated in the forthcoming general elections. It is for this reason that the federal government must deploy soldiers to ensure peace, stability and security during and after the elections.”
Source: Nigerian Pilot