A human rights organisation, the Save Lagos Group (SLG), has admonished President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), to stop de-marketing the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over what it described as, “unfounded allegations of corruption.”
The convener of the group, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, gave the admonition in a statement made available to Tribune Online, on Wednesday, saying unfounded allegations against political opponents would rather overheat the polity unnecessarily.
The group also urged President Buhari and the leadership of APC to believe in politics without bitterness, adding that they can only do this by also believing that formidable and virile opposition was one of the ingredients upon which the survival of democracy was based in any clime.
The SLG convener, who also doubled as Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), challenged any Nigerian that has any evidence of corruption against Atiku to channel it through appropriate quarters instead of engaging in the campaign of calumny and character assassination over the unfounded corrupt allegation.
He called on the president to make his campaign based on issues of good governance and not to trend campaign on frivolity, noting that Nigerians were now wiser than ever to choose between the alleged empty promises of Buhari and the new hope as represented by Atiku.
Sulaiman further averred that all the 2015 electioneering campaign promises of Buhari have been cancelled at the initial stage of the present administration by saying he did not promise Nigerians but his party did, stating that Nigerians were regretting voting en mass for Buhari in 2015 because the purported APC change in governance was yet to have bearing in the lives of the Nigeria masses.
He described as a charade the recent governorship elections held in Ekiti and Osun states conducted under Buhari’s watch and alleged that government apparatus was the tool used to disenfranchise eligible voters to cast their votes for the candidate of their choice.
He further described the acclaimed war against the corruption of the Buhari led- Federal Government as a ruse and a mere witch hunt of the political opponents ahead of 2019 general election.
“Nigeria is not the Banana Republic where the citizen would just engage in character assassination not to talk of the government which has every apparatus to arrest, detain and prosecute anybody found culpable of any corrupt practices. Political actors should realise that Nigeria as a country has rules and regulations guiding the conduct of government and governed.
“We are restating to challenge any Nigerian who has any evidence of corrupt allegation against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to channel it through appropriate Federal government agencies under Buhari’s watch.
“We also appealed to Buhari’s government not to hesitate to approach any court of competent jurisdiction if there is any corrupt practice against Atiku instead of trending on a frivolous allegation in the media.
“We are not supposed to make any comment on this issue because we are not the mouthpiece for Atiku but as a stakeholder in the Nigeria democratic project, we should not allow political actors to truncate our hard-earned nurturing democracy by sending the note of warning to them on the implications of raising unfounded and frivolous corrupt allegation against political opponent.
“Rather, they should instead have an issue-based campaign on how to move the country forward in the area of employment generation, electricity, provisions of social amenities and so on,” Sulaiman said.
Even if a “pope” becomes presidential candidate of a political party in Nigeria, the opposition party would still find faults in him. This is the tradition in Nigerian polity.
Leave them alone, when start to measure the depth of the river with both legs : he will get drown
Leave them alone, when a man start to measure the depth of a river with both legs : he got drown
Atiku was cleared of all allegations against him when he was in APC .
They want to collect money from Atiku.
Nobody is asking any group to stop saying anything, everyone knows that your only strength lies in propaganda. On the scale of corruption, is Buhari cleaner than Atiku?
Who else? <3Nigerian Pride ?
APC dnt need to demarket atiku,we d mases alrdy who atiku is.
APC can’t demarket atiku because the promoted him
You ran a successful business with our looted fund governance and leadership is not all about business even old women in village can do business and become successful in it without an MBA in any business school stop bragging with business as you where only successful in milking this nation for your hedonism. But in reality so far politicking aside , propaganda and sentiment aside for 16years within this 16years you are a vice president for 8years in this country what are the legacy left for the commoner by your administration? What is that people oriented project executed and accomplished by your administration for 8years as a vice president? all we see over the places are your private universities that are not meant for common citizens and companies……no reasonable thinking citizens of this country will give you a single vote but in all PMB has forth corruption, face the boko harams squally and reduce them to nothing. Face herdsmen farmers clashes created by you Atiku and your political allies. He has complete the railway project which was commissioned 5times by pass criminal’s and looted the money meant for the project work is also in progress at Manbila power project which you and your master OBJ looted almost 16billion dollars by awarding project to yourselves and looted such huge capital. He has rejuvenated the economy from recession as a result of greed and embezzlement by the pass administration .he has create more than a million job opportunities through the Npower program .he has rejuvenated our agricultural sector thereby ensuring less depending on foreign rice and other common food items that can be produce in this country. He successful collect tax of over a hundred billion from your company which you invade and refuses remittance to the federal government THIS YEAR!
N13.2b Was Remitted By ATIKUS INTELS to TSA
After Corruptly Refusing 2PAY For Years. Successful Businessman or thief? you are the epitome of this problem to our economic predicament and recession PMB makes it recovery .he has done so much for the pass 3years and by God grace you will never smell Aso rock.
All the gang up against Buhari is because he seeks to reduce the gap between the corruptly rich and the hardworking poor in Nigeria. If it is the will of God for Buhari to give Nigerians a country they can be proud of, the colony of thieves will be disgraced in 2019. Name one Nigerian ex president in the PDP apart from the late Yar’ Adua, that was sincere about the plight of Nigerians and sincerely took steps to change their lives. Atiku and Obj ran a presidency that stole the future of the Nigerian youths and enriched themselves with it. Our challenges today would have been history during that administration if not for the greed and selfishness of the presidency
Let him be deceiving you people with fighting corruption and the whole Nigerians will die of hunger