By Olusegun Lawrence The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation has threatened to pass a vote of no confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should it be found culpable in what it called desperate bid to cover up the certificate scandal involving the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammdu Buhari.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Director of Media of the PDP campaign organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, therefore, enjoined INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, to come clean on the matter.
He noted that the APC presidential candidate, Buhari made a shocking and belated disclosure on Tuesday that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has his documents.
According to Fani-Kayode, “He has not been specific about the documents he is referring to but it is very clear that this is yet another squalid attempt to give the Nigerian people the impression that INEC has his certificate.
“If this is true, it represents a somersault from his original position which was that INEC has his affidavit and it once again reveals General Buhari for what he is.
With this latest antic, General Buhari is obviously trying to smuggle a newly acquired certificate into INEC through the backdoor.
“If this is true and if INEC allows such a thing to happen, it would put a serious question mark on its impartiality and credibility.
“It would mean that it has collected his newly-acquired certificate, 40 days outside the stipulation of the Law.
“We say this because Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act says INEC “shall within 7 days of the receipt of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency…
“The Electoral Body must come clean on this matter; otherwise we will be compelled to pass a no-confidence vote in it.
“If INEC is complicit in the desperate and despicable attempt to extricate General Buhari, without compliance with the provisions of the law, from this lingering embarrassment, we will have no other choice than to harbour the suspicion and fear that the Electoral Body is already compromised and can lend itself to the ungodly agenda of truncating our victory when our candidate wins,” Fani-Kayode said.
The PDP presidential campaign spokesperson said the organisation’s position was anchored on the recent statement of Buhari, saying all his documents are with INEC, wondering when the Electoral Body collected the certificate that surfaced recently even after the expiration of the timeline set by the body.
The PDP presidential campaign organisation also called the election observers “to keep watch of the unfolding events regarding General Buhari’s qualification or otherwise”.
It noted that in other countries, it is about obeying the rule of law and not about protecting the political interest of an individual, especially since a free, fair and credible election is not about the day of voting alone but also the processes leading up to it”.
Fani-Kayode said, “Fellow Nigerians, Why should General Muhammadu Buhari refer Nigerians to hear from one legal adviser in INEC? The same INEC that its Director of legal services, one (Mr Ibrahim Bawa) who, earlier in response to numerous inquiries shortly after on December 18, 2014, told the press that INEC had published all that presidential candidates submitted which in the case of Buhari are just FORM CF001 (no certificate attached) and affidavit which is court papers and not personal document.
“It will be interesting to know at which point the affidavit transmuted into additional documents or when additional documents were provided to INEC in line with law as noted above”.
Still wondering at what point did Buhari submitted additional documents to INEC, he said, “By Buhari’s latest statement, we want to alert Nigerians to the following questions which the INEC Chair, Attahiru Jega, the so-called legal adviser whom a consultant, duly contracted by INEC, had recommended for redeployment and the APC, must HONESTLY answer:
A. WHEN DID INEC AND THIS LEGAL ADVISER RECEIVE THE DOCUMENTS GIVEN THAT THERE WAS NOTHING ON RECORD FOR HIM AFTER 18TH DECEMBER 2014?
B. WERE THESE MYSTERIOUS DOCUMENTS RECEIVED WITHIN OR AFTER THE TIME-FRAME SPECIFIED BY THE ELECTORAL GUIDELINES?
C. Could this be the source of Buhari’s renewed arrogance that anybody not satisfied should go to court?
D. HAS INEC PUBLISHED THESE DOCUMENTS AS REQUIRED BY LAW?
E. Who is in breach of the Electoral Act, Section 31:3- Buhari or Ibrahim Bawa?
