The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said it would
punish the promoters of the violence that engulfed its presidential
rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Monday, saying it was
an act of indiscipline too many.
Its Presidential Campaign Council has also taken time to deny
that President Muhammadu Buhari asked his supporters to prepare for
violence as stated by the presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, saying what the
president meant was actually a joke.
The ruling party move towards its pledge to punish the
perpetrators of the Monday violence when it accused Governor
Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State of sponsoring the ‘’Monday’s
premeditated attacks’’ on Buhari and other party leaders at the
venue of the presidential campaign rally in Ogun State, and vowed
to punish the sponsors of the violence.
The finger-pointing came from its National Publicity Secretary,
Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, just as
the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, stated that the
police have launched investigations into the incident.
In a statement issued by Director, Strategic Communications, APC
Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, the party
described as ‘’outright falsehood and scaremongering,’’ the attempt
by the main opposition party to portray the president as one
instigating people to violence.
The campaign team said what the President meant was actually a
joke but deliberately taken out of context.
“Typical of the PDP and Atiku’s campaign team, they have
continued in their favourite pastime of peddling falsehood,
scaremongering and misinformation. This time, the candidate of the
main opposition party himself, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, sensing a
comprehensive defeat this Saturday and out of frustration, threw
caution to the wind in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State on Monday,
February 11, 2019, when he alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari
called for violence when he campaigned in Zamfara State,” it
said.
The Buhari team further explained that the president had always
commented on this joke in his private conversations.
The statement said: “Nothing can be farther from the truth. The
Hausa word the President used in Zamfara, which has been taken out
of context, is fitna. Incidentally all our Hausa language scholars
have said the word means different things: it means distress,
trial, affliction or temptation. It can also be used to describe
rebellion or uprising.
‘’In this case, President Buhari was actually weighing in on the
joke told very often of recent in the North that due to the rice
boom, farmers have embarked on pilgrimage and marrying of more
wives.‘’So, what the President meant was actually a joke deliberately
taken out of context: he simply told the crowd to ensure they eat
very well because of the rice boom before they can contemplate
giving in to those temptations.“Even in some private meetings with our campaign team, the
president has always commented on this joke. Sadly, out of
desperation, Atiku has decided to peddle falsehood.“We urge Atiku to realise that it is God Almighty that gives
power and takes power. He should not use his palpable desperation
to return to power in order to sell Nigeria to his friends and to
make them rich to set this nation ablaze by outright
falsehood.”
APC Vows to Punish Sponsors of Ogun
Violence
Meanwhile, the ruling party has regretted what it described as the
‘’premeditated attacks sponsored by Governor Ibikunle Amosun’’ on
Buhari and other party leaders at the venue of the presidential
campaign rally in Ogun State and vowed to punish the sponsors.
‘’This is one act of indiscipline too many. The APC will not
condone acts of indiscipline, indiscretion and anti-party
activities from any party member no matter how highly placed,’’ the
party stated in a statement by Issa-Onilu.
He said the party would review the gross misconduct and take a
decision on the matter immediately after the elections.
The ruling party added, ‘’It must be stated that party supremacy
and discipline according to our constitution are not matters of
choice but binding principles, which must be adhered to by all
party members.
‘’The APC is a party known for discipline, justice, fairness and
equality hence any plan to destroy what this party stands for would
be rejected. No single person will be allowed to put his personal
and selfish interests ahead of the wishes of the people of Ogun
State and elsewhere.’’
It added that the decision of the National Working Committee to
uphold the wishes of party members in Ogun State is unbendable,
saying whatever means being presently deployed by persons intending
to undermine the wishes of the people for personal gains will not
be tolerated. APC urged its teeming party supporters and members
not to be disturbed by the Monday’s ‘’condemnable’’ incident,
advising them t≠o continue trooping out en masse for its remaining
campaigns and vote massively for APC candidates in the forthcoming
general elections.
Police Probe Incident
Meanwhile, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mba, has disclosed
that the police have launched investigations into the Ogun APC
crisis.
Speaking yesterday on Arise TV, a sister broadcast arm of
THISDAY Newspapers, the police condemned the violence at the APC
rally.
While reiterating the pledge that the police are tirelessly
working on maximum security to ensure free, fair and peaceful
elections, he said politicians must however work on strengthening
internal democracy.
He said: “Most of the issues are intra-party. We must continue
to work to strengthen internal democracy. In as much as the
politicians keep urging the Nigerian Police Force to provide a
level-playing field, they should play according to the rule.
“We will continue to do what is right by monitoring. The
incident in Ogun State is already under investigation and I may not
be able to speak much on it until those carrying out the
investigations turn in reports to the office of the Inspector
General.
“I can assure you that there is so much going on behind the
scene; stakeholders meeting, constructing engagement between the
political leaderships.”
Mba further added that in preparation for the forthcoming
elections, the police will deploy all its human resources for
maximum security and consequently, withdrawing policemen from
VIPs.
He added: “We will deploy all our human resources maximally to
ensure we deliver on our mandate but I won’t give figures.
“Our policemen in VIPs protections will be withdrawn to carry out
this national assignment. We want to ensure Nigerians are given a
fair level in the forthcoming elections.
“Every time we have a general election, we improve our capacity
because what we do is to look back and access on what we have and
fix errors we have made. We take criticism and put those into
consideration. 2019 will not be anything different,” Mba added.
Speaking on vote buying, he assured that the police are also
putting all strategies in place to if not eradicate issues of vote
buying, but reduce it to the minimal.
“Nigerians need to understand the power they have from their
Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). This time around if we don’t
eliminate the issue of vote buying, we will reduce it to the
minimum level.“We need the support of all the stakeholders and ordinary
Nigerians to sustain a credible election process without being
influenced by any sort of financial indiscipline.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said it would
punish the promoters of the violence that engulfed its presidential
rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Monday, saying it was
an act of indiscipline too many.
Its Presidential Campaign Council has also taken time to deny
that President Muhammadu Buhari asked his supporters to prepare for
violence as stated by the presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, saying what the
president meant was actually a joke.
The ruling party move towards its pledge to punish the
perpetrators of the Monday violence when it accused Governor
Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State of sponsoring the ‘’Monday’s
premeditated attacks’’ on Buhari and other party leaders at the
venue of the presidential campaign rally in Ogun State, and vowed
to punish the sponsors of the violence.
The finger-pointing came from its National Publicity Secretary,
Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, just as
the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, stated that the
police have launched investigations into the incident.
In a statement issued by Director, Strategic Communications, APC
Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, the party
described as ‘’outright falsehood and scaremongering,’’ the attempt
by the main opposition party to portray the president as one
instigating people to violence.
The campaign team said what the President meant was actually a
joke but deliberately taken out of context.
“Typical of the PDP and Atiku’s campaign team, they have
continued in their favourite pastime of peddling falsehood,
scaremongering and misinformation. This time, the candidate of the
main opposition party himself, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, sensing a
comprehensive defeat this Saturday and out of frustration, threw
caution to the wind in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State on Monday,
February 11, 2019, when he alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari
called for violence when he campaigned in Zamfara State,” it
said.
The Buhari team further explained that the president had always
commented on this joke in his private conversations.
The statement said: “Nothing can be farther from the truth. The
Hausa word the President used in Zamfara, which has been taken out
of context, is fitna. Incidentally all our Hausa language scholars
have said the word means different things: it means distress,
trial, affliction or temptation. It can also be used to describe
rebellion or uprising.
‘’In this case, President Buhari was actually weighing in on the
joke told very often of recent in the North that due to the rice
boom, farmers have embarked on pilgrimage and marrying of more
wives.‘’So, what the President meant was actually a joke deliberately
taken out of context: he simply told the crowd to ensure they eat
very well because of the rice boom before they can contemplate
giving in to those temptations.“Even in some private meetings with our campaign team, the
president has always commented on this joke. Sadly, out of
desperation, Atiku has decided to peddle falsehood.“We urge Atiku to realise that it is God Almighty that gives
power and takes power. He should not use his palpable desperation
to return to power in order to sell Nigeria to his friends and to
make them rich to set this nation ablaze by outright
falsehood.”
APC Vows to Punish Sponsors of Ogun
Violence
Meanwhile, the ruling party has regretted what it described as the
‘’premeditated attacks sponsored by Governor Ibikunle Amosun’’ on
Buhari and other party leaders at the venue of the presidential
campaign rally in Ogun State and vowed to punish the sponsors.
‘’This is one act of indiscipline too many. The APC will not
condone acts of indiscipline, indiscretion and anti-party
activities from any party member no matter how highly placed,’’ the
party stated in a statement by Issa-Onilu.
He said the party would review the gross misconduct and take a
decision on the matter immediately after the elections.
The ruling party added, ‘’It must be stated that party supremacy
and discipline according to our constitution are not matters of
choice but binding principles, which must be adhered to by all
party members.
‘’The APC is a party known for discipline, justice, fairness and
equality hence any plan to destroy what this party stands for would
be rejected. No single person will be allowed to put his personal
and selfish interests ahead of the wishes of the people of Ogun
State and elsewhere.’’
It added that the decision of the National Working Committee to
uphold the wishes of party members in Ogun State is unbendable,
saying whatever means being presently deployed by persons intending
to undermine the wishes of the people for personal gains will not
be tolerated. APC urged its teeming party supporters and members
not to be disturbed by the Monday’s ‘’condemnable’’ incident,
advising them t≠o continue trooping out en masse for its remaining
campaigns and vote massively for APC candidates in the forthcoming
general elections.
Police Probe Incident
Meanwhile, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mba, has disclosed
that the police have launched investigations into the Ogun APC
crisis.
Speaking yesterday on Arise TV, a sister broadcast arm of
THISDAY Newspapers, the police condemned the violence at the APC
rally.
While reiterating the pledge that the police are tirelessly
working on maximum security to ensure free, fair and peaceful
elections, he said politicians must however work on strengthening
internal democracy.
He said: “Most of the issues are intra-party. We must continue
to work to strengthen internal democracy. In as much as the
politicians keep urging the Nigerian Police Force to provide a
level-playing field, they should play according to the rule.
“We will continue to do what is right by monitoring. The
incident in Ogun State is already under investigation and I may not
be able to speak much on it until those carrying out the
investigations turn in reports to the office of the Inspector
General.
“I can assure you that there is so much going on behind the
scene; stakeholders meeting, constructing engagement between the
political leaderships.”
Mba further added that in preparation for the forthcoming
elections, the police will deploy all its human resources for
maximum security and consequently, withdrawing policemen from
VIPs.
He added: “We will deploy all our human resources maximally to
ensure we deliver on our mandate but I won’t give figures.
“Our policemen in VIPs protections will be withdrawn to carry out
this national assignment. We want to ensure Nigerians are given a
fair level in the forthcoming elections.
“Every time we have a general election, we improve our capacity
because what we do is to look back and access on what we have and
fix errors we have made. We take criticism and put those into
consideration. 2019 will not be anything different,” Mba added.
Speaking on vote buying, he assured that the police are also
putting all strategies in place to if not eradicate issues of vote
buying, but reduce it to the minimal.
“Nigerians need to understand the power they have from their
Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). This time around if we don’t
eliminate the issue of vote buying, we will reduce it to the
minimum level.“We need the support of all the stakeholders and ordinary
Nigerians to sustain a credible election process without being
influenced by any sort of financial indiscipline.”
Read more https://apc.com.ng/apc-vows-to-punish-ogun-violence-promoters/
