Posted by By JACOB EDI, Abuja on
Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organization and former Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, says that if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not retrace its steps in the way it is handling next month's election, the country may experience chaos that would cause a repeat of the June 12, 1993 crisis.
Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organization and former Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, says that if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not retrace its steps in the way it is handling next month's election, the country may experience chaos that would cause a repeat of the June 12, 1993 crisis.
Speaking on Sunday, while reacting to the omission of Atiku's name from the list of candidates for next month's presidential election, Ayu said: 'We are in court and we believe we will get justice. We have INEC, which is very lawless.
If Iwu is not daft we should appreciate that if the court directs and he refuses to act, the whole election will be null and void and what will happen is that the Chief Justice of the Federation will not swear in an illegal winner of such election," Ayu stated.
The Atiku presidential campaign boss cautioned INEC to respect the law, warning that failure to do so would create a situation that will lead to chaos even as he expressed confidence in the nation's judicial system.
Asked if the instability in the electoral process could create a June 12, 1993 situation, Ayu said: 'That will be left to INEC. If they want us to avoid it, and I pray they do, then INEC should abide by the law. The moment we say, court my foot, court my foot, as Obasanjo and Iwu seem to be saying, we are degenerating towards anarchy.
'Once INEC is seen as fair and impartial, elections will be held and results declared. INEC should have gone to court over Atiku. Otherwise, they are creating a scenario that will lead to a situation that will disrupt our democratic system and INEC must be held responsible for that," Ayu emphasised.
Although he expressed satisfaction with the report of the Senate Review Committee on the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Ayu said he has reservations over the Senate recess. According to him, since the Senate came to the extent of submitting the report, it would have finished work on the committee report before going on the recess.
'I thought that the Senate will stay two or three days to conclude discussions on the report but that's the judgment of the Senate leadership. I hope when they come back, they will be fresh enough to do justice to the matter," he said.
While saying that his party, Action Congress and Atiku are law abiding, Ayu alleged that the PTDF saga was orchestrated to stop Atiku from contesting the elections, adding: 'But the Nigerian public is not easily manipulated..
'One thing that has come out of all these is that Obasanjo's hypocrisy has been exposed as against claims of his standing on high moral grounds. What the report has done is that Obasanjo is the most corrupt president this country has ever had. Look at the N250 million he paid his lawyer. He diverted about N25 million to establish an Institute of Science and Technology. All these are outside the PTDF's functions," said Ayu.
By the committee's report, according to Ayu, Atiku was only indicted in the case involving the lodgment of 20 million dollars in banks as against about seven queries raised in the case of President Obasanjo.
'As far as we are concerned, the Senate absolved Atiku. There is nothing wrong with bank lodgments as long as the banks are genuine. If that is the only issue, then we take it that Atiku is absolved, but Obasanjo has a lot of questions to answer before the Code of Conduct Bureau," Ayu said.