Few days to the commencement of the keenly-watched 2019 general elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday accused the opposition parties of working with foreign interests to discredit outcomes of the polls holding few days from now.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a crowded press conference in Abuja, accusing the People’s.
Democratic Party (PDP) and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), of abandoning campaigns for cheap propaganda by touring Europe and America, embarking on international blackmail against the government of President Muhamamdu Buhari.
His allegations followed earlier accusations by the APC government that the opposition was planning to scuttle the elections using widespread violence to discredit the elections and then create room for an interim government.
Mohammed accused the opposition of dispatching a 10-member delegation to some Western capitals, including London, Brussels and Washington DC, to sell the idea that the Buhari administration had perfected the plan to rig the election.
He said government information is based on ‘credible intelligence,’ adding that the opposition is working hard to discredit the forthcoming election before, during and after the polls.
“Specifically, they are sending a delegation to some Western capitals, including London, Brussels and Washington DC, to push the concocted line that the Buhari administration has perfected the plan to rig the polls. They are therefore pushing for a rejection of the results if the President wins re-election. They are also predicting carnage in the event of the President’s victory.”
He said to underscore the seriousness of government alert, “a week after our press conference, the National Security Adviser (NSA) met with state governors to also inform them of this same plan to scuttle the polls via widespread violence.”
The minister also alleged that the opposition “have targeted, for attack, the two key institutions that are most critical to the success of the election – the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police.
“They have used every malleable and malicious personality to make wild allegations against INEC. Their strategy is simple: Discredit the election even before it is held, and continue during and after the polls with a view to convincing the West – which they believe they have won to their side using lobbyist-propelled propaganda – that the election is not credible.
“They have abandoned campaigns and moved to Brussels and United States of America, on propaganda mission to discredit the result of elections that are yet to be conducted.”
He disclosed that the allegations of the opposition is centred on how the government is planning to rig elections, adding, “Government decided to alert Nigerians to the evil machinations of then opposition, which is not campaigning to win the election – because they know they can’t win a free, fair and peaceful election – but are busy planning how to scuttle or discredit it.”
The Minister noted that the main plan is to scuttle the polls is part of moves to push the nation into a constitutional crisis, with the plotters hoping they can leverage on that to push for an interim government.
He couldn’t provide concrete evidence of those weighty allegations when asked but rather disagreed with some positions at the media brief that the government may have lost trust in the international community following the said intelligence.
The minister, who declared that Buhari administration was committed to free, fair, credible and peaceful polls, said he was using the opportunity to call on all “Nigerians to be vigilant as we begin the final countdown to the election. Eternal vigilance, as the saying goes, is the price of liberty. We must not allow desperate politicians to crash our democracy on the altar of their personal – and sometimes inordinate – ambition!”
“President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly stated his commitment to ensuring a free, fair and violence-free election. He has no doubt – based on testimonies of change from Nigerians – that the achievements of his administration, in the three cardinal areas of fighting corruption, revamping the economy and fighting insecurity, will speak for him at the polls. He did not rig his way into office and has no need to rig now that he is in office.”
