The president’s reaction followed what he claimed as the personalisation of the voice of the opposition in the events leading up to next month’s election.
Buhari reacting yesterday through a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity), Mallam Garba Shehu said:
“We read the various statements issued in the press by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP with the latest personalizing their attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari.
“This is an uncalled for attack on the administration that crosses the line in a democracy. A call for disobedience to government is a call to anarchy and should not be called opposition politics.
“Seeing people go down as the PDP and its leaders are heading to in the elections is pitiful but to seek to bring down the roof on everyone is tragic, selfish and the height of desperation. Happily, these acts do not reflect the true feeling of citizens across the whole nation, and that is why the PDP is sinking deeper and deeper into the oblivion. They are losing memberships in droves and their campaign is just a caricature of a proper campaign.
“It is high time Nigerians separated the chaff floating around in the air in the name of opposition from the crude and disgraceful invective being thrown personally at President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The problem of the opposition is that they are not talking about solutions. Rather, each of them, led in the pack by the PDP is an expert at counting problems. That is the reason why the voting population is coming around the Buhari-led All Progressive s Congress, APC.
“For years, the PDP had been a bastion of corruption and impunity and it is difficult for them to change from their rentier way if life in the nation’s affairs. But CHANGE has come, and has come to stay.”
Earlier, Atiku in a statement issued by his media spokesman, Phrank Shuaibu accused President Buhari and his son-in-law, Mr. Junaid Abdullahi of engaging in corruption, economic sabotage and unethical conduct by using funds creamed off fake contract awards to fund the president’s re-election campaign to the tune of about eighteen billions of naira.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu said the All Progressives Congress (APC) -controlled federal government has been using the Border Communities Development Agency (BDCA) headed by Buhari’s son-in-law, Mr. Abdullahi for hundreds of phony lawmakers’ constituency projects, using non-existent firms to fund Buhari’s electioneering campaign.
Buttressing the authenticity of the report, first carried by an online newspaper, Atiku said no fewer than 815 contractors were recently shortlisted by the Border Communities Development Agency (BDCA) for hundreds of constituency projects ranging from N10millionto 200million worth of contracts despite failing to meet federal contracting requirements.
He said the moves were aimed towards amassing funds for President Buhari’s re-election bid.
While challenging the Buhari and his son-in-law to deny these claims, Atiku called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to thoroughly investigate this act of corruption and economic sabotage, for its corrosive effects on the economy as well as the 2019 general elections.