Saturday, 12 March 2011 00:29 STANLEY NKWOCHA
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Counter accusations have trailed the alleged frustration of opposition parties by sitting governors from campaigning for the April polls. And this is threatening the conduct of the elections. STANLEY NKWOCHA writes.


In 2007, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP was the party to beat in Bauchi State. However, the day the then All Nigeria Peoples Party, (ANPP) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari visited the state and campaigned with Isa Yuguda, who was ANPP gubernatorial candidate was the day the curtains got drawn for the PDP. The party lost.

Excited by the successes recorded the previous day in Bauchi State, the Buhari fever headed for neighbouring Gombe State, where its rally was slated to hold at the Gombe State Township Stadium. The pomp and pageantry experienced in Bauchi State turned the opposite as the general could not hold his rally. Same day, the stadium started witnessing renovation. All attempts to hold the rally proved abortive as a frustrated Buhari made a u-turn.

Another electioneering year has rolled in and again, the politicians and their antics are here. This time, except if checked, it may spell disaster for free and fair elections cherished by everyone. Already, series of arrests of opposition party leaders and candidates have become the order of the day, so much so that in frustration, destructive tendencies, as witnessed in Suleja last week have become the alternative.

Alluding desperation and fear on the part of the PDP, the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change, said it was clear that the posture of some PDP governors was antithetical to the rule of law, just as it made a mess of President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise of free and fair elections.

The arrest of the governorship candidate of the CPC in Katsina State, Senator Yakubu Lado, last Saturday, threw up serious comments and counter reactions. It is alleged that the arrest of Lado was ordered by the state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema after a clash between the PDP and the CPC supporters at Makauraci Village in Rimi Local Government Area of the state.

“We are not afraid of anybody. We are ready to protect lives and property and deal with troublemakers. We shall invoke Sections 119, 128 and 131 of the constitution, which gives us power to deal with any troublemaker,” Shema had said.

Tear gas was let loose when CPC supporters protested Lado’s arrest as it took the intervention of the Police to bring the seeming riot under control. It was alleged that a sister of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, Mario Tafida, said to be asthmatic, was affected by the tear gas the Police released.

In Ebonyi State, the governor, Mr. Martin Elechi, had disallowed the ANPP from holding its rally in Abakaliki, the state capital. Reason? Elechi alleged that the party chairman, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, an indigene of the state, had a “nefarious agenda.”

Same story goes in Benue State, where the ACN accused the state government of preventing it from holding its presidential campaign at the IBB Square, Markudi. The government on its part however, denied the allegation.

A PDP chieftain, who spoke to the media, was quoted as saying: ‘’The PDP as the largest political party in Africa, has the responsibility to allow democracy to go on, and this can only grow if all parties are allowed to ventilate their positions to the public. So it is not the policy of the PDP for any party to be denied the use of facilities. It is not excusable, whatever the technical limitations that might exist in the use of a public facility, it is difficult to sell it to the public that you are not denying the use of that facility to a party because of political differences.

“So, there should be no attempt to deny any party the use of public facilities within the state. Once a particular political party has made use of that public facility, all other parties must have access to the use of it.”

But this would not go down well with national publicity secretary of the ACN, Lai Mohammed. The outspoken politician said, “It does not only show desperation and frustration on their part, it also shows that they are jittery.” He said that after years of fruitless leadership, the PDP was resorting to what he termed ‘underhand tactics’. Lai said that this act, if not stopped, was capable of derailing the elections, and in effect, the transition programme.

Lending its voice, also, the ANPP attributed the attacks from the PDP on what it termed the party’s imminent loss at the forthcoming April elections. ANPP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Eneukwu, said the desperation on the part of the PDP was being shamelessly discharged.

“We have been telling the whole world that if there is a free-and-fair election in Nigeria today, the PDP will fail woefully. They have devised a means to coerce the opposition into submission, so that they can write the results (of the election) as usual,” he had charged.

Eneukwu added that the PDP was aware that if it permitted a free and fair election and also allowed the opposition to campaign, it would meet its waterloo.

Said he, “The PDP threw the 12 years Nigerians gave it into the dustbin. They have no campaign issues. What issue will you tell someone who gave you 12 years and you did nothing?”

Yinka Odumakin, the spokesman of the CPC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), posited that the governors’ intolerance was “a sign of the end time of the PDP, ” adding that “the PDP has never won any election. It is now scared because it sees that its defeat is imminent.”

The conference of Nigerian Political Parties also said it was not surprised at the PDP’s resort to violence. It warned Nigerians not to be carried away by the assurances of the government on the safety of lives and property in the country ahead of the elections.CNPP’s national publicity secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, accused the PDP of having “an incurable electoral phobia.”

“Anytime they see signs of free and fair elections, they resort to violence and intimidation. They will do anything to prevent a free and fair election in the country,” Osita pushed.

Meanwhile, the INEC chairman, Dr Attahiru Jega has warned state governments that have formed this habit to desist from it or face its wrath. This is just as parties signed a code of conduct to guide them ahead the April polls.

“We have heard of reports of state governments barring opponents and parties from campaigning in their states. Banners and posters of opposition parties and contestants are also being destroyed. Public media are not providing equal opportunities in terms of coverage of political parties-political parties want to pay for slots to air their campaigns and are told that slots have been bought up by other parties.

‘’We shall not tolerate this, and be rest assured that INEC reserves the right to bring such persons to probity and met out appropriate punitive measures. This is a last warning”, Jega stated.

As it is now, the die seems cast. But if the violence raging at rallies is anything to go by, then it may be proper for the PDP, fingered as the chief culprit in this game, and indeed, other political parties to become tolerant of themselves as the looming crisis from experiences of the past weeks could be disastrous.

http://www.leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26773:april-polls-between-pdp-and-opposition-rallies-&catid=63:politics-and-policy&Itemid=194

gej/sambo all the way,

^^ 2nded

Agreed. GEJ/SAMBO all the way!