RBM said this on Wednesday in a statement signed by its convener, Mr. Emmanuel Umohinyang, in reaction to the statement made by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the president should produce original of his certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) instead of swearing to an affidavit to enable him to contest the 2019 presidential poll.
According to the group convener, since Buhari had said his certificates were with the military, the onus is on the PDP and others in doubt to take advantage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to clear the doubt, declaring, however, that PDP was always quick to make allegations that were meaningless in the eyes of the ordinary Nigerians.
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“So, I do not think the President sending an affidavit to INEC instead of a certificate should be an issue. Swearing to an affidavit with false motives is perjury. You should know the president would not have brought himself so low to achieve any objective, no matter how huge,” Umohinyang said.
“The PDP reminds us of one of the stories of Saul in the Bible. You know Saul was rejected and he was still parading himself as the king of Israel, but it was not until David was anointed a king that he knew that his end had come.
“The PDP is always quick to make allegations that are meaningless in the eyes of the ordinary man on the street.
“President Buhari in 2015 had also made the same affidavit to INEC where he said then that his certificates are with the Secretary of the military board. I do not think anything has changed because it is the same affidavit that the president has equally submitted this time,” he added.
Umohinyang described the issue public domain as elementary, maintaining that if PDP and others in its shoes could write appropriate authority to demand that they are furnished with such information, using FOI Act, if they were so concerned.
“If they are so bothered about it, they can write relying on the Freedom of Information Act, but I think the president’s position has been very consistent.
“Maybe, they do not know President Buhari. He is as constant as the northern star. Whatsoever he tells you today, if you go back to him in the next hundred years, he will still repeat the same,” RBM convener said.
“That goes to tell you that truth is constant. For falsehood, you need a lot of lies to cover one lie,” he added, declaring: “This government was founded on truth, on integrity, and the President has maintained that in the last three and half years.”
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