THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has replied to the call by Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) leader, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), who warned that blood would flow over the 2015 elections should it be like the last general election won by the PDP, saying that the former head of state is blood thirsty.

Addressing a news conference at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, also noted that the PDP understood Buhari’s frustration having contested and lost election three times.

While taking exception to Buhari’s remarks, the PDP recalled that the former CPC presidential candidate’s earlier statement led to the bloody post-election crisis that claimed the lives of several innocent people last year.

Metuh stated: “We need to remind ourselves that on April 21, 2012, Buhari was reported in the media as predicting a bloody revolution in 2015. The reports in the national dailies today (Tuesday) quoting the same retired General as repeating that blood will flow in 2015 is another build-up to Buhari's relish of funeral train.

“While PDP cherishes freedom of speech, assembly and association as the custodian of Nigeria's democracy, we, at the same time, know that such freedom goes with immense responsibilities. We condemn in no uncertain terms this shameful call for the spill of blood of innocent Nigerians to acquire political power.

“We appreciate Buhari’s frustration and antagonism towards the PDP. He has lost three times at the polls. But is Buhari really a democrat?
“Why is the blood of innocent Nigerians the only thing sufficient to quench his thirst for power?”

The PDP pointed out that what the nation needed was evolution in the true spirit of democracy, noting that the utterances of Buhari, a former military head of state, was undemocratic, unpatriotic and un-statesmanlike.

“It is on record that Nigeria is yet to recover from the huge losses it suffered due to such reckless and provocative remarks by Buhari before the 2011 general election, which led to a spate of bloody post-election violence across six states of the federation,” the PDP posited, adding that “Buhari is again engaged in another build-up of massive bloodletting and destruction.”

The party, therefore, advised that “Nigerians should be worried over Buhari’s quest for power by all means, as he begins chanting his old war song once again. We have no doubt that Buhari is suffering from combat withdrawal syndrome. We, therefore, urge the Federal Government to allow him to lead the ECOWAS military contingent to Mali or Guinea Bissau to enable him an opportunity to exercise the bloodletting demons apparently haunting him.”

The PDP which said it was disturbed by the utterances of the CPC leader, “at this time of grave security challenge while Nigerians are burying their dead and counting their losses,” regretted that “General Buhari, who wants to rule them, is further inflaming the orgy of violence. What a blood thirsty leader in Buhari!”

The party called on well-meaning Nigerians, especially the northern elders, to call Buhari to order and ask him to “spare the nation his thirst for blood.”

The PDP further observed that Buhari had consistently accused the PDP government of not interested in transparency and justice, using this as a basis for inciting the public to take the law into their hands.

“To him, justice is only done when his party wins. Where it doesn’t, the PDP’s machinations will be blamed. He has repeatedly cited the Igabi Local Government in Kaduna State as an example of where free and fair election was conducted, simply because CPC won,” it said.

The PDP advised Buhari to stop seeing PDP as the evil genius behind his failure, adding that he was the architect of his own misfortune, as he and his party, CPC, headed to the 2011 election unprepared, with very weak party structure in more than three-quarter of Nigerian states.

On the 2015 general election, the PDP spokesman said the party would win convincingly based on its performance in all sectors and, therefore, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the conduct of a free, fair and credible election.

FG not Boko Haram —Presidency
Also on Tuesday, the presidency came down hard on Buhari, saying that his comments were most unfortunate.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Pubicity, Dr Reuben Abati, the presidency regretted that apart from labelling the Federal Government as Boko Haram, Buhari had predicted bloodshed in 2015.

According to the presidency, “perhaps the most unfortunate part of the statement was the portion in which Buhari said since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the North can do.”

It added that it was saddening that “an elder statesman who once presided over the entirety of Nigeria could reduce himself to a regional leader, who speaks for only a part of Nigeria.”

According to the statement, the presidency said “come to think of it, as the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 election, how many states in the federation did he visit to campaign for votes? Buhari never bothered to campaign in the southern part of the country and consistently played up the North-South divide to the chagrin of patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians.

“As the results revealed, Nigerians will never vote for anyone who wants to divide the country. Is Buhari going to continue to be a sectional leader?”

While disagreeing with Buhari on the Boko Haram claim, the statement said the Federal Government, led by President Jonathan, was not Boko Haram.

On the claims that the Federal Government did not listen, the president asserted that such an accusation ought not to emanate from a man overthrown by his own hand-picked colleagues in the military for refusing to listen to advice and behaving as if he had a monopoly of knowledge.

Group chides him
Also, a group, Christian Awareness Initiative of Nigeria (CHAIN), has chided Buhari, adding that it noted with dismay, “the bloodthirsty and unstatemanlike utterances of the retired general,” warning him against turning the current war on terror to a North versus South affair.

The statement, signed on behalf of the group by Pastor Caleb Ma’aji, urged the Federal Government to take the threat of violence foretold by Buhari seriously, recalling how a similar statement by him after the 2011 presidential election ignited a chain of violence that claimed hundreds of lives and properties.

“We understand that since he would only accept that the election is free and fair on the condition that he wins, we note that in reality, Buhari is really saying that there would be bloodshed in 2015 if he does not win.

“We wish to advise Buhari that his planned bloodshed of dog and baboon should start and finish in his own house and that we, as Christians, will never be overcome by evil but will overcome evil with good,” the statement said.

S/West PDP queries him
The South-West chapter of the PDP, in its reaction, queried Buhari for “hiding his own children,” while calling on other peoples’ children to die for him.

A statement issued by the zonal director of media and publicity, Lere Olayinka, said Buhari should henceforth be held responsible for any crisis that might occur anywhere in Nigeria.

It urged security agencies to probe the recent meeting of Buhari and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, in Lagos, stating that Buhari’s statement on violence could be a leak of the plans the duo had for the nation in future elections.


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