[Malam Nasiru el-Rufai] Malam Nasiru el-Rufai The National Security Adviser retired Gen. Patrick Aziza must be joking for daring to oppose INEC’s recommendation that voters should wait at polling units after casting their votes to witness ballot counting and announcement of results, former Minister of the FCT, Malam Nasiru el-Rufai, has said. Leading the Good Governance Group (3G) at a press conference with the theme: “Voters must not be intimidated”, yesterday, el-Rufai urged voters to discountenance any position other than INEC’s, noting that the NSA must be living in the past when people would vote and walk away to allow space for election riggers to have a field day. “The NSA is living in the past and he will get to know on Saturday...vote and leave is the foundation for rigging. We are urging people to take big breakfast before going to polling units so that after voting they will stay there and see their votes being counted,” the former minister said. The 3G also frowned at the plan to deploy troops during the election, saying “the operation has little to do with security concerns but creating a climate of intimidation to rig the elections.” “The plan consists of intimidating voters and precluding them from coming out to freely elect candidates of their choice in the 2011 elections, particularly in areas where candidates having the support of the government of the day appear to be unpopular,” he said. 3G commended INEC for resolving “to disallow any public officers –be it President, vice president, governors, deputy governors, and ministers...from violating the restricted movement on Election Day directives under the guise of election monitoring.” He noted that Jega’s appointment was by accident and the PDP is already regretting that President Goodluck Jonathan took the decision to appoint the INEC chairman, who has currently built fire walls around the electoral commission. El-Rufai observed that the trend in majority of African elections in recent times have been to sack incumbent government, citing cases of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Kenya. “No Nigerian would wish to share the anguish that stolen elections have caused in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and is causing in Cote d’Ivoire,” the 3G said, stressing that the convulsions of June 12, 1993 should not be allowed to return. The 3G which was formed in 2009 also has former Senate President Ken Nnamani and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Bello Masari as members who took part in the Safe Nigeria Initiative that pushed for the observance of constitutional provisions in the terminal days of President Umaru Yar’adua.

retired General Muhammadu Buhari

The factional crisis in the Congress of progressive Change (CPC) in Katsina State deepened yesterday as the leader of the party, retired General Muhammadu Buhari  wound up his presidential tour in the country. Supporters of the party who went for the rally left in confusion on the authentic  candidates to face the ruling PDP in Saturday’s National Assembly polls.

Two factions of the party loyal to the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari and those of the court-recognized Yakubu Lado Danmarke had mobilized supporters to the venue to receive the party’s presidential flag bearer with either side claiming legitimacy.

The confusion was accentuated after General Buhari at the podium raised the hands of the senatorial flag bearers of the party, Senator Abu Ibrahim (Funtua,Katsina South), Hadi Sirika(Daura, Katsina North) and Abubakar Saddiq Yar’adua(Katsina Central) constituencies.

The situation angered supporters of Senator Abdu Umar Yandoma (Daura) and Ahmed Sani Stores (Katsina Central) who are in the court-recognized list of 44 candidates against Sirika and Yar’adua, both of whom are in the Masari faction currently challenging the latter’s nomination at the appeal court.

Daily Trust learnt that before that incident, the police  had earlier stopped some youths who attempted to erect a billboard of Masari at the airport.  Masari, who only a day earlier lost a case at the Abuja Federal High Court to quash Lado’s status as authentic CPC candidate in the state, was not seen at the General’s convoy. Thousands of CPC supporters were seen chanting “Nigeria sai Buhari” and “Kama shi Lado.”

Buhari who earlier visited Governor Ibrahim Shema and the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, informed them that he would not raise the hands of the gubernatorial and other candidates because of the pending court cases to show his respect for the court. He praised the hands of the governor and the emir for personally staying back to welcome him at their offices as against other states where emirs on the instruction of their governors ran from their palaces in order not to receive him, saying he was not bothered due to his 2003 and 2007 experiences in the contest.  Buhari ended his tour with a pledge to tackle corruption, insecurity, power, health, transportation as well as infrastructure while promising to ensure fairness to all Nigerians irrespective of their socio-economic background if elected.