Posted by By TOPE ADEBOBOYE on
Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the weekend accused President Olusegun Obasanjo and a clique in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting a crisis that would ensure indefinite postponement of next month's general election and the May 29 handover date.
• Accuses Obasanjo of brewing crisis
Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the weekend accused President Olusegun Obasanjo and a clique in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting a crisis that would ensure indefinite postponement of next month's general election and the May 29 handover date.
He accused Obasanjo of still "hell-bent on perpetuating himself in office."
In a letter to the Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, Atiku, who is also the presidential standard bearer of the Action Congress (AC), said Obasanjo's determination to bar him from contesting the April polls using the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the State Security Services (SSS) and other public institutions as well as the president's disregard for court rulings posed a grave danger to the ongoing transition programme.
The letter was also copied to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari as well as the United States embassy, the British High Commission and the European Union.
The vice president, who attributed Obasanjo's alleged determination to frustrate his presidential ambition to the role he played in the thwarting the president's tenure elongation plans, accused the INEC leadership of insisting that he remained disqualified from the presidential race in spite of a Federal High Court ruling which declared that INEC had no powers to bar him.
"As a stakeholder, I urge you, in the name of God and for the love of our country, to do something about these serious threats to the transition programme. We must not allow any individual or organization to scuttle our democracy as a result of one man's megalomanical quest for self-perpetuation," Atiku said.
The letter reads in part:
"As you well know, since I led the opposition against Obasanjo's plot to amend the constitution to allow him run for an unprecedented third term of office, the president has sworn to frustrate my legitimate desire to contest the presidential election in April. He has used state institutions to harass, intimidate and humiliate me. He has erected several legal and political obstacles against me.
As a democrat and a strong believer in the rule of law, I have confronted these vendetta- induced obstacles and challenges through our legal and political systems. Thus far, I have won almost all the court cases and won the hearts and minds of most Nigerians who have come to admire my patience, tenacity and the courage to stand up to evil.
"The latest legal victory came on March 7th, 2007 when a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice B.O. Kuewumi, ruled that INEC does not have the powers, under the 1999 constitution and the Electoral Act 2006, to disqualify a candidate for an election from contesting. The court went on to state that ‘the power to disqualify any candidate sponsored by any political party from contesting an election is vested in the courts as provided for in Section 32(5) of the Electoral Act 2006 and in any other legislation that is validly enacted in that behalf (see attached copy of the judgment).
"In spite of this very clear and unambiguous ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is bent on denying me my fundamental human right as a free citizen of this country to offer myself for elective office. The INEC leadership, obviously acting on the instructions of the Presidency, declared, rather arrogantly on Thursday March 8th, that ‘court judgment or no court judgment, Vice President Atiku Abubakar remains disqualified from the April Presidential Election.'
Such blatant disregard for the decision of a sacred institution, as the judiciary, is dangerous for the future of our country. It is a clear invitation to anarchy and it is the beginning of the end of the institutions which serve as the pillars of our young democracy. This is not right. This is criminal. And it must not be allowed to stand. It is sad and unfortunate that INEC has become part of the plot to scuttle our transition programme and indeed, our hard-earned democracy.
"As a stakeholder, I urge you, in the name of God and for the love of our country, to do something about these serious threats to the transition programme. We must not allow any individual or organization to scuttle our democracy as a result of one man's megalomaniacal quest for self-perpetuation. This country is bigger than all of us and we must not allow anyone toy with its future.
"Given the fragility of this country, the National Assembly should be concerned about potential threats to national peace and stability. INEC has become an obstacle to free and fair elections in April and we owe it a duty to the Nigerian people to check this executive interference in the work of the commission and urgently take steps to restore its independence and integrity.
"I trust that you will act swiftly on these issues and save Nigeria from a needless and dangerous crisis. This is a national emergency and you must act now to arrest the situation."