AC TO YAR'ADUA: ADAMAWA GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION NOT WAR

The Action Congress, AC, has lashed out at President Musa Yar'Adua for declaring the Governorship election in Adamawa State as a matter of war, saying the President's statements contradicts his claimed commitments to the rule of law. In a statement signed by National Secretary of the party, Usman Bugaje and made available to Pointblanknews.com, the party noted that President Yar'Adua has chosen to adopt the do-or-die strategies of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

 According to AC "President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, while campaigning in Yola, Adamawa State, on Monday unequivocally declared the bye-election to fill the seat of the governorship of the state declared vacant recently by the Appeal Court as a matter of war."

 "The Action Congress is shocked and disappointed that Yar’Adua has chosen to adopt the same do-or-die style of former President Olusegun Obasanjo that pushed this country to the brink since April 2007. We do understand the embarrassment the nullification caused the PDP and we understand the desperation of the PDP, but we still find it surprising, perhaps, horrifying that a President who claimed to be committed to the observance of rule of law and due process is publicly declaring an election contest a matter of war. As president and commander-in-chief of the Armed forces, the implication of the declaration of an election as a war is nothing short of a directive to the security forces that they must not fail to deliver the state to the PDP. Even without such open declaration we have seen what the security forces did as recently as the Katsina State Local Government Elections."

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 "It is imperative to underscore the fact that all the posturing by Yar’Adua about humility and civilized ways of doing things are nothing but a façade to hood-wink the unsuspecting people of Nigeria. It is self-evident now, that nothing has changed in Nigeria and that Nigerian democracy is endangered as long as PDP rules. PDP, it is now beyond doubt, does not believe in proper elections, even when it is within itself, as the recent convention showed. This PDP policy is the greatest danger yet to our tottering democracy. We must mobilize all democratic and indeed patriotic citizens to fight this danger."

 "In a democracy, politics is supposed to be a peaceful and civilized pursuit. It is not war. Elections are won by persuasion and by appealing to the people to accept your programmes."

 "Elections are not won through violence and rigging as the PDP has been doing and plans to do in Adamawa and Kogi States. We believe that if people genuinely want to offer themselves for selfless service, they do not need to fight for and force acceptance through coercion and intimidation by the very forces that are suppose to protect the people."

 "It is therefore for this reason that democracy has been aptly described as a government of the people for the people and by the people. In other words, true democracy is always people-centred and people-driven. The people of Adamawa know who their true leaders are; they know those that can genuinely serve their best interest. They know those who refused to get their roads constructed; those that pretend to be good while in fact they are of the devil. It would be recalled that at the AC campaign flag off last week in Yola, former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar did not use uncouth and abusive language in his address. He did not declare war on PDP. He articulated the programmes of the Action Congress, and appealed to the people of Adamawa to vote for the party’s candidate, Ibrahim Bapetel in the April 12 election."

 "We are aware of the short-sightedness and the desperation of the crowd around Yar’Adua, but we appeal to Yar’Adua and the PDP, not to allow these hawks to destroy our democracy and to particularly restrain them from throwing the country into further political crisis; we are still trying to sort out the mess Obasanjo left behind in the polity."