Romanus Ugwu and Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has explained what he felt President Muhammadu Buhari meant by the directive given to security operatives to deal ruthlessly with political thugs who attempt to snatch ballot box during the elections.
President Buhari hours ago had declared: “Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb (election) maybe that would be the last unlawful action he would take.
“I have directed the police and the military to be ruthless.”
According to Tinubu, President Buhari’s directive is not for security agencies to shoot indiscriminately but only at those out to snatch ballot boxes or disrupt the electoral process.
Tinubu, while speaking to reporters at the end of the All Progressives Congress (APC), national caucus emergency meeting at the party secretariat in Abuja, said: “I was at that meeting; the president was just reinforcing the fact that if you are out there snatching ballot boxes, and causing destructions, you are at the risk of your own life. Whatever happens to you … no president will give an order that his own citizens should be shot summarily, no! No, it’s okay; emotions are running high these days. Any individual including myself can be misinterpreted.
“These are not his words; he is a law abiding person and he understands categorically and clearly what the rule of law is and the lives of individual citizens that he is in that office to protect. Now, let me say this; he has been fighting Book Haram, kidnappers and all these before this election; did you hear him asking them to be shot and executed summarily?
If he has gone through that in the last five years, please give him a benefit of the doubt.”
On the postponed elections and INEC’s stance on campaigns, Tinubu recalled that the Electoral Act allows for campaigns 24 hours to elections.
He said: “By law, we should continue to energise our people; it depends on our resources. The Electoral Act allows us to do that and ask us to stop campaigning only 24 hours before the actual election. And once you have changed the date to February 23, you have given us the opening to campaign and energise.
“If you have a garden and you don’t nourish it with water, the grass will remain dormant; we don’t want our party to remain dormant.
“This is the ability of leadership to convert adversity to opportunity and prosperity and that’s it; that’s what we must do.”
Whether the election postponement casts doubt on the credibility of INEC, Tinubu said: “It depends on how it is handled and the process – how the process is managed; you can convert … in crisis, a situation of adversity to an opportunity and progress.
“The INEC, under the law, is empowered to postpone, cancel and do whatever is necessary to ensure a free and fair election. No party, no matter the anger, the disappointment, no party can reverse that. So, we are ready for February 23.”