hehehe...2015 election sha....The Director, Media and Publicity of PDP Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has called on Ndigbo to re-elect Goodluck Jonathan as Nigeria’s President.
Fani-Kayode in a statement issued in Umuahia, Abia state capital on Sunday stated that no other leader in Nigeria did as much as what Jonathan had so far done in the region.
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He said Jonathan’s “unflagging love for the South-East zone has crystallized in a high number of Igbo sons and daughters serving in the present Federal Cabinet”.
According to him, “President Jonathan’s government, as you know, was the first to appoint an Igbo military officer as the Chief of Army staff.
“Records have shown that it is only the government of President Jonathan that re-constructed the Enugu International Airport while also remodeling the Imo Airport.
“Indeed, the conversion of the Enugu Airport to an International Airport is considered critical to the economic survival of the people of the Southeast. We are happy to list the ability of people from south-east to tap from the You-Win initiative of the Jonathan’s government for economic benefits.
“The government holds the credit for constructing the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage way as well as the rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt rail-line. We will not forget to mention the construction of the second Niger Bridge which was started by President Jonathan.”
Fani-Kayode also lambasted Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, over his statement that APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari would win the presidential election.
“Okorocha knows very well that all parts of Nigeria are rooting for President Jonathan, including the north where General Buhari hails from. We trust that you will never be cowed by the APC’s cheap propaganda and false claims.”.
Urging the Igbos not to cast their votes for Buhari, Fani-Kayode recalled the role General Buhari allegedly played during the tragic events in the core north in the mid-60’s just before the civil war when no less than 100,000 innocent and defenceless Igbo civilians were killed within a period of three months.
The statement reads: “Many have asked and wondered whether it is true that General Buhari was amongst those that covertly orchestrated and encouraged those killings and that supported the slaughter of these innocent and helpless citizens.
“We give thanks to God that Igboland is now a vital and integral part of a united and indivisible Nigeria and that the pains of the civil war are many years behind us yet the wounds inflicted on our minds must be healed, and completely too.
“This can only be done after the souls of the innocents that were slaughtered are appeased by ensuring that anyone, no matter how highly placed, that committed or encouraged any crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing, at any point in time in our history, against their fellow Nigerians are brought to book.
“The best way to do that is not to dismiss these grave and serious questions because this man was accused of participating in the terrible atrocities against the Igbo both on January 29, 1966 and during the course of the massacre of innocent civilians in the north in September, October and November 1966.
“At this juncture, we must ask this painful yet pertinent question: is it true that the blood of the Igbo people ran up to the knees of General Buhari on the night of July 29, 1966. These questions were put to General Buhari during the sitting of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa-led panel in 2001, and instead of him to answer them accordingly if these allegations were indeed true, for him to ask for forgiveness, General Buhari refused to turn up and answer them.
“Instead of coming clean and making use of this historic opportunity to settle the matter once and for all and make peace, Buhari went to court to ask for an injunction to restrain the Panel from compelling him to come and give answers.
“This is very unfortunate and it is nothing but a sad and graphic reflection of his unrepentant and vicious mindset. The truth is that it is because he failed to face the Oputa Panel and answer those questions 14 years ago that we are still asking those questions today.
“The Igbo people of the Eastern Nigeria have suffered immeasurably over the years in this country and we are glad to say that in the past two years, they have been able to hold their heads high under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“We are also happy to say that this is the time for the Igbo , who are full blooded Nigerians like every other person in this country, to rise up and show General Buhari and anyone else who may have had a hand in the atrocities that were committed in the ’60s against them that they were, indeed, wronged.
“The only way the Igbo can do this is by refusing to vote for General Buhari in the coming Presidential election and we do not think that any self-respecting igbo man would vote for a General who many believe may have participated in the killing of their people, both on July 29, 1966 and in the ’60s when the pogrom took place. Again it does not stop there.
“During the Nigerian civil war, one of the most terrible and barbaric acts that ever took place was in Asaba. That was when Federal forces marched in and liberated Asaba from the control of Biafran soldiers during the civil war.
“The Federal troops that re-took Asaba ordered every single igbo male civilian, including many young boys, to assemble at the center of the town. After doing that, they lined them up and shot every single one of them in cold blood. These were not soldiers but unarmed and defenceless civilians.
“This was a wicked act, a monumental tragedy and it has become a sore point in the history of our country. I was in Asaba two days ago during this tour and I could not but remember and ponder on that ugly and shameful episode.
“It is important for us to remember that day because one of the allegations against General Buhari that was to be put to him at the Oputa panel was that he was amongst the division that took part in the massacre and that ordered those killings.
“If this is true it makes him an automatic candidate for the International Criminal Court at the Hague for crimes against humanity and war crimes. Since he refused to face the Oputa panel to answer these questions, we are here today, offering him the opportunity to do so.
“General Buhari, in essence, should tell the Nigerian people; whether he was in Asaba at that time, whether he participated in the killing of those innocent civilians, whether, if it is true, he is ready to repent now and whether he can find it in his heart to apologise, not just to the Igbo people, but to the Nigerian nation for these acts of genocide.
“We considered it germane to ask these questions here because we are on the soil of Igboland. This is because it is the sons and daughters from this soil that suffered the pains of the atrocities that were committed.
“It is also relevant for us to ask these questions here in Umuahia, the epicenter of Igboland and the birth place of General Agunyi Ironsi, who was the first Igbo to ever become the Head of State of Nigeria and who was killed six months after he took office. All along, concerned Igbo leaders have been asking these questions in hushed tones and they all want answers.
“Besides the mind boggling allegations against General Buhari in the massacre of Ibos in the ’60, we would also like to express our doubts about his ability and competence to manage the economy of our country if elected President.
“We say this because we are mindful of the fact that he has repeatedly failed to display the discipline, acumen and creativity that is required in starting and managing a personal business for survival years after leaving office as Head of State.
“We allude to this against the background that other retired Generals and Heads of State that we know in Nigeria including General Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, and others have been investing in farming, tertiary education, oil and gas and other enterprises.
“If General Buhari has been receiving pension, gratuities and other financial benefits like other retired Generals from different quarters since he left Government, he should tell the Nigerian people which business venture he has ever set up for his own well-being and that of other Nigerians.
“We believe that our dear General would have done himself proud even if all he could do was to set up a pure water manufacturing business that could keep younger Nigerians around him in gainful employment. Yet even this he failed to do. This is a man that wants to be elected President of a country that has the largest economy in black Africa.
“We found it painful to contend that what General Buhari, a former Head of State of Nigeria has been doing often times is proclaiming himself poor with a saintly gesture that portrays him as Mr. Clean. This is far from the truth!
“We will not forget to mention that since he left office, the only national assignment General Buhari handled was the Chairmanship of the Petroleum Technology Fund (PTF) which eventually exposed his inability to handle such critical and sensitive tasks.
“Indeed, the Haruna Adamu Report on PTF exposed the other side of General Buhari as it indicted the PTF interventionist agency he headed. It was stated in the report that the sum of N25 billion disappeared from the coffers of PTF under Buhari’s leadership.
“The indictment of the Buhari’s PTF is a moral burden on him, most especially on the issue of corruption against which he has been claiming to be a saint. The question now is; can Nigerians credit this man with the ability to manage a huger task of running the affairs of a complex country like Nigeria, given his performance at PTF?
“By way of contrast, we are delighted that President Goodluck Jonathan, our presidential candidate, has continued to stand tall. Today, his government has managed to achieve a soul-lifting record by re-writing the story of the Igbo in Nigeria, given the numerous federal projects his government has cited in the every part of the south-eastern zone of Nigeria.
“His unflagging love for the south-east zone has crystallized in a high number of Igbo sons and daughters serving in the present Federal Cabinet. President Jonathan’s government, as you know, was the first to appoint an Igbo military officer as the Chief of Army Staff.
“Records have shown that it is only the government of President Jonathan that re-constructed the Enugu International Airport while also remodeling the Imo Airport. Indeed, the conversion of the Enugu Airport to an International Airport is considered critical to the economic survival of the people of the Southeast. We are happy to list the ability of people from south-east to tap from the You-Win initiative of the Jonathan’s government for economic benefits.
“The government holds the credit for constructing the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage way as well as the rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt rail-line. We will not forget to mention the construction of the second Niger Bridge which was started by President Jonathan.
“The south-east states have also benefited from the progress recorded by the education sector under the government of President Jonathan with federal universities built in Ebonyi, Abia, Imo and Enugu states.
“Let me seize this opportunity to dispel the shameful deceit and propaganda of the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. He has said that the Igbo people should not waste their votes by investing them in our Presidential candidate on the basis that the rest of Nigeria will vote for Buhari. This is a lie from the pit of hell.
“Okorocha knows very well that all parts of Nigeria are rooting for President Jonathan, including the north where General Buhari hails from. We trust that you will never be cowed by the APC’s cheap propaganda and false claims.
“All we can tell doubting Thomas like Okorocha is to wait for the outcome of the March 28 Presidential election which will ultimately teach Buhari and APC the most bitter lesson of their lives”.
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