Eniola Olayemi
President Muhammadu Buhari and his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) are using state apparatus and resources for the elections in violation of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, said yesterday.
Atiku, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Paul Ibe, said the National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu had in December, last year, warned political office holders against using state resources or apparatus for their campaigns, or deploying same against their opponents.
“However, in negation of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, the Buhari administration and the APC has taken to the illegal deployment of state resources to its advantage for the election.
“We wish to remind President Buhari and the APC that the use of state videos released by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is illegal under the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
“The media is awash with advertisements with the hashtag #PMBDIDIT and signed by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and referencing so-called achievements of the APC administration in the states of Abia, Kwara, Lagos, Ebonyi, Delta and Kano, among others.
“These are without doubt 2019 presidential campaign materials produced by the Ministry of Information and Culture using state resources and apparatuses to benefit President Buhari,” the statement said.
Atiku also demanded that INEC issues an immediate cease and desist order to both the Ministry of Information and Culture and the broadcast channels running the campaign materials produced by the ministry.
“We also insist that INEC register the media spend behind it as part of the APC’s total N1billion campaign spend limit,” the former vice president said.
Meanwhile, speaking at a campaign rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has said that Atiku, the presidential candidate of the PDP would crush the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East and guarantee employment opportunities for Nigerians if voted into power.
Secondus said Atiku would end the Boko Haram attacks, improve on the current state of the nation’s economy by providing jobs to the unemployed Nigerians and make life better for Nigerians.
He warned security agencies and the electoral commission against rigging the elections, saying there would be consequences if they do so
