Presidential Election: PDP, CPC differ on Lemu panel report

Presidential Election: PDP, CPC differ on Lemu panel report
Chukwumerije Aja, Abuja

The National Chairman of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Prince Tony Momoh on Tuesday, at the premises of the court of appeal hearing his party’s petition against the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, faulted claim in some quarters that Presidential Panel of inquiry led by Sheikh Ahmed Lemu indicted General Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly making comments that ignited violence after the 2011 Presidential election.

Gen. Buhari was the Presidential Candidate of CPC at the last Presidential election and he was accused by some politicians of making comments bordering on the need for voters to make their votes count by guarding till they are counted and recorded.

Momoh said this after the Presidential Election Petition Panel sitting as a court of appeal in Abuja adjourned to October 20, 2011 for adoption of addresses.

Speaking further, Momoh said that it was not only Gen. Buhari that made similar comments before the elections pointing out that those who said the Lemu panel indicted him (Gen. Buhari) are not presenting the true position of the panel.

Inhuman condition

Momoh who was a former Minister of Information, stated that former President Olusegun Obasanjourged voters to “go there and protect your vote.

“President Jonathan said I did not ask anybody to rig election for me, Governor Adams Oshiomhole made similar comment, Tony Anenih said you must send able bodied people to protect your vote,” he said.

In his words, “Buhari did not ask anybody to go and burn houses or kill people adding that if for instance Buhari asked people to burn vehicles, why was his own also burnt?”

According to him, such comments from the leaders who belong to different political parties emphasise the need for the people to protect their votes and not for them to engage in violent activities.

He concluded that the problem in the country was caused by wide gap between the rich and the poor saying “people have no job. We should address that condition as simple as that. There would be revolution if we do not address this inhuman condition”.

Contradiction

In the contrary, the National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali pointed out that the PDP had raised a number of issues.

“We are concerned and worried. The violence started on a Sunday evening, and then on Monday before the result of the Presidential election was announced. The violence took place in areas where CPC had a larger showing. Why should the violence take place in areas you have more votes”.

“The targets were PDP officials and even traditional rulers. All of us suffered during the period. In your local government people were harassed, houses were burnt. The comments made by the leaders of the opposition were not helpful. For instance why should a leader say if they stop you from voting hit them”.

“One of the elements of free and fair election is absence of violence. Go and ask people who attended a briefing of CPC in Kaduna.

“There is something odd about them. The violence started before the result was announced. That is to show that the action was premeditated. I had to evacuate my family from the home one month before the election. I was also a target. Why should I be a target?. Is it because I am a member of PDP?”.

Meanwhile PDP in all presented 10 witnesses and officially closed their defense.

Presidential poll

One of the witnesses called by the PDP, the state chairman of PDP in Cross Rivers State, Mr Ekpo Asuquo Okon, said that his traditional ruler did not force him to vote for anybody and that he did not see any traditional ruler following people to vote in the polling units.

Okon said that he had been the state chairman of PDP since 2008 and only heard of the existence and presence of CPC shortly before the April 2011 elections and that the party did not campaign in Cross Rivers State.

He told the court that the state had 940 polling units and that visited 45 of them during the presidential poll.

He said in his witness deposition that the April 16, 2011 Presidential election was free and fair and that he arrived at this conclusion because he was physically present in some of the polling units.

Written addresses

Before adjourning the petition to October 20, Justice Akaahs said: “we have come to the conclusion of the public hearing, which is the end of all oral evidence.

“We want to use this opportunity to thank all parties for the spirit of decorum you have displayed.”

He explained that by constitutional provision, the court must determine the petition within 180 days of filing the petition.

Justice Akaahs appealed to the parties involved to give the court enough time to be able to consider all the evidence.

Accordingly, he said: “all respondents in the matter are given three days within which to file their written addresses and petitioner is given three days to respond to the written addresses. The court therefore adjourned to Thursday 20th October for adoption of addresses.”

The court, which said that the three days given to the respondents to file and serve their written addresses on the petitioner starts from October 12, 2011 noted that if there was need for reply on points of law, it would be within three days on the part of the respondents.


Uche Iheanacho