Following the revelation by Governor of Bauchi State, Malam Isa Yuguda, that those who pelted President Goodluck Jonathan’s convoy during his presidential rally in the state on Thursday are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has demanded an apology.
The Presidency and national leadership of PDP had accused Buhari and his party, the APC, of sponsoring its members to ridicule the president in Bauchi during his (Jonathan) campaign there in spite of the fact that the APC presidential candidate had signed a peace accord on peaceful conduct before, during and after the elections.
Gov. Yuguda, who is a member of the PDP, had while speaking with the BBC Hausa Service yesterday, said the incident was pre-arranged by Abuja politicians from the state to tarnish his reputation before President Jonathan.
“I am sure and let the world know that the people who did this thing were PDP members and those politicians in Abuja were the ones behind it; they were not APC members”, the governor said.
In his reaction to the revelation, Buhari, in a statement issued by the Director, Media and Publicity of his campaign organization, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the admission by Yuguda that the incident was engineered by PDP members had absolved him and the APC of any blames.
The statement reads in part: “It has always been said that the incidents that have manifested themselves in the electioneering process were act of the PDP on PDP violence, arising from their mismanaged primaries. Governor Yuguda’s admission is a confirmation of the position of our party and our candidate that they have no hand whatsoever in these dastardly attacks.
“Now that Yuguda has admitted that these attacks were hatched and executed by fellow PDP members, we demand an immediate retraction and apology from the Senate President David Mark; the Political Adviser to the President, Professor Alkali; the PDP leadership and their presidential campaign council, who have unjustly made our party and its presidential candidate their whipping boys over this unfortunate incident. We commend Isa Yuguda’s candour expressed through this open admission”.
And PDP was quick to accused APC of been behind the attack. Hmmmmmmmm.