The Presidency yesterday reacted to a statements credited to Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi on the 2015 general elections. Speaking on Wednesday at Eagle Square, Abuja venue of the Salvation Rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Amaechi warned against any attempt to rig the forthcoming elections as he vowed that the main opposition party would carry out “civil disobedience” as well as form a “parallel government.”
But reacting yesterday, Dr Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, faulted Amaechi, that Jonathan would win the next election without rigging.
Okupe recalled that previous polls held under the present administration had been free and fair. “Since Nigerians know for a fact that the Rivers State Governor has not been living in the moon, but has been in this country since the commencement of our present democratic experiment, they are definitely at pains to understand why he has failed to acknowledge the successes that have attended our electoral processes since President Jonathan came on board.
“It is a well-known fact that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has remained faithful to its commitment to electoral transparency in all elections conducted since the electoral reforms of 2010. Unlike what obtained in the not too distant past, President Jonathan has ensured that the electoral commission remains truly independent of all influences and manipulations and this has won the Nigerian electoral process a lot of accolades from the local and international communities.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is the President’s political party, had lost elections in several states and electoral constituencies with the President usually being the first to congratulate winners of such contests. This is the hallmark of President Jonathan’s statesmanship and an undisputable commitment to democratic norms and values.
“It is therefore, preposterous, evil and mischievous for Mr Amaechi to suggest that there were plans by the Federal Government to rig any elections in today’s Nigeria.It is even more evil and certainly anti-democratic for him to threaten “civil disobedience” and the forming of a parallel government if his party loses the 2015 general elections.
“We unequivocally condemn this stance by Governor Amaechi, which borders on attaining power through threat, intimidation and subversion of popular will.If Mr. Amaechi is so much afraid of his party crashing to defeat in the general elections, what he needs to do is to advise the leadership of his party to either give up in good time or repackage itself in order to appeal to Nigerian voters who must definitely have the final say in the democratic process.
“We also want to sound a note of warning to Mr Amaechi and other desperate players on our political scene that Nigeria has moved away from the dark days of dictatorship and resort to brigandage and that any attempt for any individual or group of individuals to resort to extra-legal means of acquiring power, would be dealt with by the laws of the land,” Okupe noted.
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