By  Henry Umoru, Gbenga Oke & Levinus Nwabughiogu

LAGOS — The All  Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday alleged a plot by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Presidency to scuttle the February 14 presidential elections through a rash of frivolous court actions.

Jonathan-Buhari

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has said the APC was not ready for the general elections and asked the party to concede defeat, noting that its campaigns have already exposed its emptiness and lack of integrity to Nigerians.

The party at a press conference in Lagos, yesterday, thus charged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, to stoutly defend the independence and integrity of the judiciary in the face of the challenges just as it alleged that the Federal Government was deliberately fencing off foreign journalists from witnessing the polls through denial of visas.

The charges made by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, were echoed in a separate press statement by the Buhari Campaign Organisation which said the presidential candidate of the party, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) was the target of the frivolous court actions.

Buhari’s spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, accused the presidency of seeking a pliable judge to declare Buhari ineligible to contest and through that instigate violence that would lead to the declaration of a national emergency.

At a separate news conference in Abuja yesterday, the APC also said that it would not be featuring in the on-going electioneering public debates on national television and radio, being organised by the Broadcast ing Organisation of Nigeria, BON, hinging its decision on the “unhidden bias and campaign of calumny by some key organisers of the programme, against the corporate political interest of the party (APC) and its candidates.”

Buhari to boycott BON-organised TV debates

Shehu, Director Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, APCPCO, in a statement further alleged that the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG) powered debate was fraught with fundamental errors from the outset, by wearing the toga of government control, especially being composed mainly of agencies and allies of the incumbent People’s Democratic Party, PDP, administration.

He said: “A salutary inspection of the composition of NEGD brings into focus the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), National Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the African Independent Television (AIT, owned by a PDP chieftain).

“And going by the avalanche of inflammatory statements, misinformation and blatant lies being propagated by some of these media against our party and candidates contrary to the Koffi Annan brokered Abuja Peace Accord, and the failure of these aggressors to desist and apologise, have left the APC Campaign with no option than to steer clear of any premeditated smear campaign that could be inimical to our prospective electoral success.”

The APCPCO spokesman further explained that the boycott by the APC should not be seen as disrespect to Nigerian voters or an alibi for the party to dodge public scrutiny but be viewed as an honourable right not to consent to any activity that could distract, demean, denigrate or derail the fast-moving train of the party.

He noted that many government-controlled media have clipped the wings of APC promotional advertisements on one excuse on the other, adding that until a court upturned their decision recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, shut-down some telecom portals for soliciting legitimate campaign funds from members of the public for APC.

Death threat advertorials

He said: “Aside, elements close to sitting President Goodluck Jonathan have commissioned series of derogatory and death threat advertorials against the person, family and associates of the opposition leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, to which the APC had sent letters of complaint to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of State Security, Advertisers Practitioners of Nigeria (APCON), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the erring media that published or aired such offensive adverts or documentaries.

“None of our letters of protest has been attended to by the authorities. So whatever the incumbent President wants to do with the instrument of state to harass members of the opposition into humiliating submission would not work. The APC/Buhari campaign is now a people’s movement. The more they try to rubbish it, the more popular we are with the populace.

“We are not shadow-chasers or moon-walkers. The APC is concerned mainly with the lack of unity and security in Nigeria; plus the growing decimation of lives, property and territory of our great country due to preventable insurgency; the slumbering economy; decaying educational system; absence of jobs; poor public health; and the cancerous institutionalisation of corruption in our national life.

You can’t fool the people all the time. Nigerians will vote out their oppressors come February 14.”

Court cases to disqualify Buhari

However, Alhaji Mohammed said: “With just a little over two weeks to next month’s general election, a rash of court cases have been instituted in an unrelenting effort to stop our presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and at the last count, at least four cases have been filed by those who are undoubtedly fronting for the PDP and the Presidency, they are all working towards the same goal: Stop Buhari or scuttle next month’s elections. We expect more cases to be filed in pursuit of this ignominious objective.

“Since the emergence of General Buhari as the presidential candidate of the APC at a well-organised and transparent national convention of our party last month, things seem to have fallen apart for the PDP and the Presidency and for them the centre can no longer hold.

“Indeed, Gen. Buhari has become the nightmare for the ruling party and the Presidency to such an extent that their entire electioneering campaign now dwells on one issue which is the person of Gen. Buhari.

“Why are they so frightened by Gen. Buhari’s candidacy for the office of the President? Why are they so terrified of facing Gen. Buhari at the polls? Why have they been engaging in a clandestine campaign to postpone the elections when on the other hand you claim to be ready?

“We have also decided to appeal directly to the CJN to defend the integrity of the judiciary at this critical moment to avoid a repeat of what transpired in 1993 when unscrupulous elements constituted themselves into the infamous Association for Better Nigeria, ABN, that was used to annul the 1993 general elections, thus aborting the Third Republic and throwing the country into a deep and prolonged crisis.

Visas to foreign journalists

“May we also alert Nigerians and the global community to the systematic denial of visas to foreign journalists wishing to cover next month’s election. A regime that has nothing to hide or fear will not hesitate to allow international coverage of what is undoubtedly one of the most important elections in the world this year.

“Information reaching us indicates that most of the foreign journalists who applied for visas to travel to Nigeria from different parts of the world for the elections have been kept in abeyance under the guise of security clearance. This is totally unacceptable and it is another indication that this administration has a lot of skeletons in its cupboard as far as the forthcoming election is concerned.

APC not ready for polls —PDP

In a statement, yesterday, by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party described APC’s fixation on its unfounded claims of plots to scuttle the 2015 general election as a clear confirmation that the opposition party was not ready for the polls.

He said: “The APC and its Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, are now frustrated that they could not present an alternative to the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan and as such have resorted to fabrication of baseless stories in an attempt to heat-up the polity and divert attention from their failure.

“Having ran a superior campaign with its record of achievements and roadmap for a more prosperous Nigeria, the PDP reassured that it is ready for the elections and urged Nigerians to turn out en-mass and vote for it come February 14th 2015.”