All Progressives Congress presidential
candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.), in a warm embrace with his
Peoples Democratic Party opponent,
President Goodluck Jonathan, at the
general elections sensitisation
workshop on non-violence in Abuja… on
Wednesday.
The Peoples Democratic Party
Presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan and his All Progressives
Congress counterpart, Maj.Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) may meet
before the March 28 presidential
elections.
The PUNCH gathered on Sunday that the
meeting which might hold outside the
country was to establish rapport
between the two contenders before the
election.
A source close to the Presidency said,
“We are trying to broker a meeting
between the two leaders.
“The way the presidential electioneering
is going may create serious divisions
among Nigerians. We need to stop this.
“Apart from this, I think there is serious
apprehension in the camp of the
President that if Buhari wins, he’s going
to jail a lot of President Jonathan’s
supporters for alleged corruption.
“This is one of the issues that is causing
serious tension in the camp of the
President and we also need to make
sure that in whatever we do, there must
be peace in the country.”
It was learnt that the claim by former
President Olusegun Obasanjo that
Jonathan was afraid that Buhari could
jail him was real after all.
A top member of the ruling PDP, who
also spoke with our correspondent on
the condition of anonymity said, this fact
could not be denied by the party and the
Presidency.
He said, “You have listened to the press
conference by our campaign office and
we didn’t deny that aspect. But we dealt
with other issues.
“That statement by former President
Obasanjo is real. It is true and we all
know that. But we know that very soon,
the meeting which we are hearing is
being coordinated by some concerned
leaders, might address that.”
Obasanjo had on Saturday said, ‘‘I
believe the President’s fear is particularly
motivated by whom he sees as his likely
successor, that is, Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari. I believe people would have
been telling him that Buhari is a hard
man; he will fight corruption and he
(Jonathan) may end up in jail if not in
the grave. I think people would have told
him that sort of thing and he is not the
only one afraid of Buhari.’’
Meanwhile, the PDP has called on all
political parties and other stakeholders
in the electoral process to join hands
with the Independent National Electoral
Commission to make the 2015 general
elections a success.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr.
Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja on
Sunday, said all parties must come
together in the interest of the nation
and ensure that measures that create
the environment for credible, free and
fair elections were firmly put in place.
He said, “The responsibility of building a
united, strong and prosperous nation
anchored on democratic principles lies
on all of us collectively.
“We therefore charge all political parties,
other relevant groups and all
stakeholders in the electoral process to
jettison all personal/group interests and
put that of our nation and its people
ahead of all.
“The future of our nation is determined
by what we do or say at this point in
time. We must therefore resolve to work
together as patriotic citizens and join
hands with INEC and relevant
institutions of government to ensure
credible, free and fair elections devoid of
rancour and disagreements.
“At this point, what should be
paramount is the well-being of our
people and the survival of our dear
nation and its democracy.
“We must therefore close ranks as
brothers and sisters and resist the
machinations of enemies of our country
who do not wish us well.”
Metuh called on the political parties to
redirect their energy to issues that
promote national development,
reinforce unity among Nigerians and
engender mutual understanding and
peaceful co-existence.
Metuh said, “Nigeria is a great nation.
We must appreciate the resilience of our
people and their resolve to succeed.
“Indeed, we cannot afford to fail our
citizens at this time of our national life.
We must work hard to continue to
ensure that the environment that
contributed to the successes we have
recorded is adequately maintained and
enhanced”.
He also called on INEC to gird it loins and
appreciate the fact that it was “saddled
with an enormous responsibility and
that “Nigerians expect nothing less than
a transparent electoral process”.
Metuh said the commission should
understand that “observations by
stakeholders are not intended to
castigate, weaken or destroy the
electoral process but to assist in
deepening democracy so that at the end
of the day, Nigerians will be the ultimate
winners”.
Also on Sunday, the National Auditor of
the PDP, Adewole Adeyanju, advised INEC
to allow eligible voters to use their
Temporary Voter Cards during the
elections.
Adeyanju advised INEC to commence the
use of the Permanent Voter ‘ Cards
during the bye elections that might
arise from the March 28 and April 11
polls to test its card readers.

ok

The need for fence mending is crucial, but saying the president is afraid of Buhari victory and Obasanjo's prediction is a joke taken too far. Why didnt Buhari jail Shagari back in those days? Anti~graft is sellable commodity, but you dont use that to hoodwink an incubent or else you want to radicalize him I think.

After running a series of terrible campaign on our General, PDP want a soft landing for their crooks.
AIT will die with this government.