The fears of #GEJ

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential
candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his All
Progressives Congress counterpart, Maj.Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) may meet before the
March 28 presidential elections.
The Punch gathered on Sunday that the meeting
which might hold outside the country was to
establish rapport between the two contenders
before the election.
A source close to the Presidency said, “We are
trying to broker a meeting between the two
leaders.
“The way the presidential electioneering is going
may create serious divisions among Nigerians.
We need to stop this.
“Apart from this, I think there is serious
apprehension in the camp of the President that
if Buhari wins, he’s going to jail a lot of
President Jonathan’s supporters for alleged
corruption.
“This is one of the issues that is causing serious
tension in the camp of the President and we
also need to make sure that in whatever we do,
there must be peace in the country.”
It was learnt that the claim by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo that Jonathan was afraid
that Buhari could jail him was real after all.
A top member of the ruling PDP, who also spoke
with our correspondent on the condition of
anonymity said, this fact could not be denied by
the party and the Presidency.
He said, “You have listened to the press
conference by our campaign office and we didn’t
deny that aspect. But we dealt with other
issues.
“That statement by former President Obasanjo is
real. It is true and we all know that. But we
know that very soon, the meeting which we are
hearing is being coordinated by some concerned
leaders, might address that.”
Obasanjo had on Saturday said, ‘‘I believe the
President’s fear is particularly motivated by
whom he sees as his likely successor, that is,
Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. I believe people would
have been telling him that Buhari is a hard man;
he will fight corruption and he (Jonathan) may
end up in jail if not in the grave. I think people
would have told him that sort of thing and he is
not the only one afraid of Buhari.’’
Meanwhile, the PDP has called on all political
parties and other stakeholders in the electoral
process to join hands with the Independent
National Electoral Commission to make the 2015
general elections a success.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa
Metuh, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said
all parties must come together in the interest of
the nation and ensure that measures that create
the environment for credible, free and fair
elections were firmly put in place.
He said, “The responsibility of building a united,
strong and prosperous nation anchored on
democratic principles lies on all of us
collectively.
“We therefore charge all political parties, other
relevant groups and all stakeholders in the
electoral process to jettison all personal/group
interests and put that of our nation and its
people ahead of all.
“The future of our nation is determined by what
we do or say at this point in time. We must
therefore resolve to work together as patriotic
citizens and join hands with INEC and relevant
institutions of government to ensure credible,
free and fair elections devoid of rancour and
disagreements.
“At this point, what should be paramount is the
well-being of our people and the survival of our
dear nation and its democracy.
“We must therefore close ranks as brothers and
sisters and resist the machinations of enemies
of our country who do not wish us well.”
Metuh called on the political parties to redirect
their energy to issues that promote national
development, reinforce unity among Nigerians
and engender mutual understanding and peaceful
co-existence.
Metuh said, “Nigeria is a great nation. We must
appreciate the resilience of our people and their
resolve to succeed.
“Indeed, we cannot afford to fail our citizens at
this time of our national life. We must work hard
to continue to ensure that the environment that
contributed to the successes we have recorded
is adequately maintained and enhanced”.
He also called on INEC to gird it loins and
appreciate the fact that it was “saddled with an
enormous responsibility and that “Nigerians
expect nothing less than a transparent electoral
process”.
Metuh said the commission should understand
that “observations by stakeholders are not
intended to castigate, weaken or destroy the
electoral process but to assist in deepening
democracy so that at the end of the day,
Nigerians will be the ultimate winners”.
Also on Sunday, the National Auditor of the PDP,
Adewole Adeyanju, advised INEC to allow eligible
voters to use their Temporary Voter Cards
during the elections.
Adeyanju advised INEC to commence the use of
the Permanent Voter ‘ Cards during the bye
elections that might arise from the March 28 and
April 11 polls to test its card readers