By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA — Buhari  Support Organisation, BSO, an umbrella body of 85 groups canvassing support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, raised alarm that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has flouted Abuja peace accord entered into by 14 presidential candidates last week.

This is even as the organisation embarked on a sensitisation workshop for its coordinators nation-wide to drive home the intent of the accord.

The concern by BSO followed a paid advertorial in a national daily, yesterday, where the sponsor, Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, in a bid to garner support for the presidential candidate of the PDP and Nigeria’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, lined up pictures of former fallen Heads of State and President, asking Nigerians to be conscious of Buhari’s health status in casting their votes in the forthcoming general elections.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Head, Media and Publicity Unit of BSO, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, warned Governor Fayose and the PDP not to over-heat the polity.

He said that such “mimicking” could be inflammatory and might scuttle the peace accord signed by the candidates.

Maduekwe, who described the development as uncalled for, also said it was not acceptable by Buhari and BSO.

Reminding Fayose that he was not God to determine the death of humans, Maduekwe appealed to the media to be alive to sensitive advertorials that could spur anger and violence among the supporters of the candidates.

He said: “I don’t think it is a fair compliment and I would have expected that the media should be careful following the Abuja Accord not to over-heat the polity. Nobody is God. Nobody knows how long anybody can live.

“So, making an issue about the life and death of our principal, General Mohammadu Buhari through an advertorial, is totally uncalled for, not acceptable by us and totally very reprehensible and must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians who believe that the Abuja Accord is truly a new paradigm for violence-free electioneering campaign in Nigeria.

“We cannot be talking about presidential candidate coming together to sign an accord to rein in their wards, His Excellency, Governor Fayose of Ekiti State would dare take a paid avert in The Sun Newspaper to talk about death. He is not in command and control. He is not God.

“Fayose is a PDP governor. So, definitely he is acting either by omission or commission, on behalf of PDP and it is wrong. When you watch other commentaries from PDP stalwarts like Fani-Koyade feeding into this line, then PDP themselves are breaking the Accord. PDP is using the media.”

Meanwhile, sequel to the Abuja accord, BSO kicked off a workshop meant to sensitise their coordinators nationwide on the need to have violence-free polls in February.

In his welcome address, at the workshop, entitled, ‘Training Buhari Support Organisation, BSO, State Coordinators on conducting a Violence-Free Polls,’ the Chief of Staff to Buhari, Col. Hammed Ali (ret) said it was pertinent to educate the people for a crisis-free election.