A foundation member of the All Progressives Congress, APC,
Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has stated that contrary to claims by the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, that he
stopped the tenure elongation plot, it was actually President Muhammadu Buhari
that led the stoppage.
Quoting Atiku, who told the lawmakers that “During my tenure
as vice-president, I developed a very intimate relationship with members of the
National Assembly and it was that relationship that enabled us to stop the
third-term or the life Presidency attempt by President Obasanjo,” Okechukwu
said, “yes Atiku joined at tail end, but to claim he stopped it is less than
honest and farther from the truth.”
Okechukwu was reacting to the above statement credited to
the former Vice President, when he met with some members of the National
Assembly on Sunday night at Abuja that he stopped the 3rd Term plot.
Okechukwu, who is also the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, countered the claim, saying that President Buhari, more than any other Nigerian, both dead and alive, should be given the credit for simulating the movement which botched first One-Party-System and secondly the obnoxious 3rd term plot by PDP behemoth.
Recalling events that led to killing of the idea, Okechukwu
stated: “The road to stop the 3rd was long and tortuous. In fact, it started
when Atiku was still in charge and in the comfort zone of the Aso Villa. He
joined the race after he fell out of favour, following his botched attempt to
snatch the presidential ticket from his boss, President Oluesegun Obasanjo in
2003.
“It seems Atiku is adept at reversing history, because he
did same in advancing reasons why he breached the PDP’s Constitution and
subsisting rotation convention, a breach which is divisive and capable of rift
between north and south; as many patriots will frown if Atiku a northerner
succeeds President Buhari a northerner. Many will rate it unpatriotic,
unpresidential and contrary to rotation agreement.”
To substantiate Buhari’s role, Okechukwu stated that “many
of us were observers when ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo had almost driven
Nigeria into One-Party State, prelude to 3rd Term gambit.
“This bid was stopped by Buhari, who, in a thunderstorm
fashion, strengthened the defunct All Peoples Party, APP, by the 12 million
Vote-Bank scored in the 2003 presidential election.”
The APC foundation member recalled “how Rt.Hon. Chuba
Okadigbo of blessed memory celebrated Buhari’s entry into APP in 2002”, adding
that Okadigbo proclaimed then that this is the man who has the capacity to stop
Obasanjo’s plan to institute One-Party-System in Nigeria.
According to Okechukwu, “Obasanjo was implementing
One-Party-System he had advocated in a pamphlet as the best model for Nigeria
before he became president. But, Okadigbo warned that this is the trajectory of
all known African big men.”
Okechukwu advised Atiku to concentrate on his presidential
aspiration to further divide Nigeria, rather than weaving alternative realities
about past political events in Nigeria’s political history.
“Has Atiku forgotten how he aided Obasanjo to hurriedly drop
His Excellency, Solomon Lar of blessed memory as chairman of the PDP? Has Atiku
forgotten how the duo did not allow Lar to celebrate the victory of the nascent
party he led to victory in crucial general elections?
“Has he forgotten how they went ahead to cripple both
defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) and APP, all in a bid to institute
One-Party-System, as a prelude to 3rd Term?” Okechukwu queried.
“Can one who breached the constitution of his party and
rotation of power between north and south, be a unifier?” He quipped.
He commended President Buhari for working tirelessly to
bequeath Nigerians with enduring legacy of free, fair and transparent
elections.
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