PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Mohammadu Buhari, has warned that the current unrest in North Africa and Middle East would not elude Nigeria if the leadership remains unaccountable to the people.
Buhari, who was in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, yesterday to flag off the CPC presidential campaign rally for the South-South zone of the country, said no one should rule out the North African revolution in Nigeria, if the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) does not change its style of governance.
The former military Head of State, who berated the PDP-led administration at the centre since 1999, said the time has come for progressive-minded Nigerians to rise up and kick out the present leadership of the PDP through the ballot box.
“You need people that will work for you and represent you. This is your fundamental right as Nigerians. The good thing about what is
happening in the Arab world is that it is possible here. Abia State has done it. Kano State did it in 2003. PDP was in Kano; PDP was in Abuja. The people of Kano organised themselves and took away the government from all the seats,” he said.
“In 2007 that was still the same case; the people did the same. So, why not do the same to other states in the country. It is possible; it is doable and it is going to be done this year.”
Buhari, who was accompanied by his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, said Nigerians have a right to demand accountability from those who preside over the affairs of State.
According to him, the common norm under the present PDP regime is that every body is hoping to be in a position of responsibility and put the treasury in his pocket and that State affairs have now become a personal affair.
“What we advice you, it was in Tunisia, it was in Egypt, it is in Yemen and now it is in Egypt and only God knows where it will be heading by December. It is important for you to impress on the leadership at all levels to know that, under this arrangement, the country and its resources belong to you. You need to give positions of responsibility to only those you trust,” he said.
CPC Vice presidential candidate, Pastor Bakare, urged the people of the region to vote for the CPC, which, according to him, remains the only
political party that ensures that Nigeria practises true federalism, which is what the region yearns for.
Presidential hopeful of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari, will flag off the Southeast zonal campaign for all party candidates in the area on Tuesday, March 8.
The duo of the Imo State chairman of the CPC, Ben Anebunwa, and the director general of the campaign programme of the party, Nze Godwin Ohaka, disclosed this at the weekend in Owerri.
They maintained that all is set for the event, scheduled to take place at Obi Memorial School ground in Emekuku, near Owerri metropolis, adding that the event, which would feature fund raising for the party’s at Rapour Hotel, Owerri 7 p.m., will have in attendance candidates and friends of the party.
According to Anebunwa, representatives from five states- Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi- will be in attendance.
He said Imo was chosen for the flag off “because it is the stronghold of the party in the Southeast.”
Ohaka said the duo of Buhari and Tunde Bakari at the presidential level and Chief Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and Okechukwu Mezu, Imo’s governorship standard bearer and running mate of the party, respectively, is laudable, as they have no record of corruption in public life.
He disclosed that the cardinal programme of institutional reform of the economy of Nigeria would be addressed, if the contestants were elected, urging Nigerians to embrace the party by voting for CPC.
Anebunwa regretted that the party’s application to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for use of the Dan Anyian Stadium, Owerri, was allegedly not granted.
The Special Adviser to Governor Ikedi Ohakim on Political Matters, Chief Rex Anunobi however told The Guardian that it is improper for opposition parties in the state to accuse the state government of not making facilities of the public stadium available, stressing that they should follow appropriate channels and be patient in asking for public facilities for their campaign.
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