The All Progressives Congress (APC) said on Sunday it will neither accept an interim government nor a postponement of next month’s elections as being advocated by certain individuals, saying the elections must hold as scheduled on 14th and 28th February 2015.
The APC was responding to an alleged Facebook statement made by an aide to Doyin Okupe, the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, that rather than for the Peoples Democratic Party and Jonathan to hand over to Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate in the elections, the government would prefer to allow the military to take over.
In a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC warned that any attempt to scuttle the polls in preference for any other arrangement will be resisted by all available constitutional means.
“We are aware that those who are not comfortable with the turning of the political tide in favour of the opposition ahead of the elections are scheming to abort a possible victory for our party, through either an interim government or a postponement of the elections,” Mohammed said.
“These enemies of Nigeria include those who are worried by the strong anti-corruption stance of our party and its avowed commitment to good governance, and those who favour the status quo of anything goes, bad governance and massive corruption that have left Nigerians deeply pauperised and traumatised.”
He added that those who may consider the two scenarios of interim government and postponement of the elections as outlandish should consider the published but yet-unrefuted statement by one Deji Adeyanju, said to be an official in the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe.
The party quoted Adeyanju, who handles Okupe’s Twitter Account, as saying in a Blackberry Messenger (BBM) statement:
“Buhari can never be President of Nigeria. Quote me any day any time. Instead of Buhari to become President of Nigeria, Nigeria would rather break. A military coup will even be allowed than for Buhari to become the President of a democratic Nigeria quote me any day, any time.”
APC maintained that since the statement has not been refuted, one can safely conclude that it represents the thinking in the presidency circle.
Mohammed added: “If a citizen is advocating a military coup against a sitting government just to prevent a supposed election victory of the opposition, it is nothing short of treason.”
“Yet, the security agencies that have been falling over themselves warning against incendiary and inciting statements have not yet swung into action over this inciting statement.
“This is not encouraging vis-a-vis the non-partisan stand of the security agencies.
