The Federal Government has described as ‘an act of desperation’ a statement credited to the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, that “killings will continue if President Muhammadu Buhari is re-elected.’’
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated the government position at a media briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
The minister said that Atiku is desperate “due to his floundering campaign’’ and admonished the former Vice President to stop bad politicking and politicising killings.
“It is clear to all Nigerians that the electioneering campaign of the PDP presidential candidate has failed to gain traction.
“From Sokoto to Ilorin to Ibadan to Gombe, it has been a disastrous outing for the campaign. With that magnitude of failure, anyone can say anything to stay afloat,’’ he said.
The minister also reacted to the allegation of clampdown on civil society with the re-arrest and detention of Deji Adeyanju
He said: “There is no clampdown on any civil society, except in the wild imagination of naysayers. As I have said, being in opposition is no licence to break the law and then hope to escape justice.
“If the Police have re-arrested Adeyanju, they must have a compelling reason to do so. Anyone who breaks the law must face justice.”
Mohammed said that the alleged fear that the security agencies might be partisan during the 2019 polls was unfounded.
“The opposition is only crying wolf where there is none, and in view of what they did during their 16 years in power. They never really won a free and fair election. Their strategy was to use the security agencies to thwart the wishes of voters.
“They did it in Ekiti and Osun in 2014. I was a victim in Osun, so I know what I am saying. But the guilty are always afraid. They think what they have done to others is what will be done to them,’’ he said
The minister assured that under President Buhari’s watch, no security agency would play such an ignominious role in any election.
(NAN)
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