Posted by BY MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta on
Former Senate deputy president, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu has said that it would be unfair to accuse the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) alone of rigging during the last 2007 general elections.
Former Senate deputy president, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu has said that it would be unfair to accuse the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) alone of rigging during the last 2007 general elections.
Even though he said the development was not good for Nigeria's political system, Mantu stated that other political parties were also involved in the manipulation process which he said was done 'at the source"
Mantu who was fielding questions form newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital after last weeks state congress of the PDP also blamed the political class for the bad image of the country, saying that he was proud to be a Nigerian.
'As a Nigerian, I am proud of this country even though everybody is ashamed because of this bad image we create for ourselves. We the political class have destroyed the image of the country, even the good ones among us are ashamed to be called Nigerians.
'I think what's happening in the judiciary, any patriot of this country, any serious leader will see that it's an indictment on the way we have done things, particularly our electoral process.
'What's the point that we have a governor that will be celebrating that he has won an election, only for him to be removed from office after six or eight months. This is not the best for our electoral our country.
If he had known that he would be removed from office after six or eight months in office, I don't think he would have allowed himself to be imposed on others by a person, group or even an institution.
Whether the PDP likes it or not, forces of nature; I mean what's happening now in the country will force not PDP alone, but all other political parties in the country to re-think and take right decision, to do the right things. If they don't, the electorate too are getting wiser by the day," he said.
Mantu also expressed the opinion that with the favourable judgment at the Appeal Court, Nigerians would see a more active president, 'who would meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians."
'I think that era of the so called go-slow is gone now. At that time, he needed to be cautious because of the pending suit against his election, but that's over now, Nigerians will see a new Yar'Adua that will meet their aspirations and yearnings.
'I believe that the president will definitely overhaul the process because in the last eight months or so, he has worked with some people as ministers and aides and the rest of them because of the nature of his coming to government. He did not know most of them really and he has to respect the decisions of the party.
'Now, he has been able to spend some months with them and he has known those who will add value to his objective and those who are just spent force. So obviously, I have no doubt in my mind that he might also look at his cabinet again and restructure in order to move at the speed in which Nigerians expect him to move."
On the proposed Electoral Reforms, Mantu said: 'To me, as a Nigerian, I think there is nothing wrong with the Electoral Act. I think what's wrong is our attempt at trying to have a way of circumventing the law.
'During the election, people went to vote. They were seen to have casted their vote but what happened there and then? Some people who know how to rig very well rigged at source. What I mean by rigging at source is rigging at the point of voting, so everything will come out perfectly from the beginning to the end in such a way that even a magician will not be able to find anything wrong in what they have done."