Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation on Sunday disowned a document containing President Goodluck Jonathan’s alleged plan to rig the Peoples Democratic Party primaries and 2011 elections.
The group, in a statement in Abuja by its Director, Research, Documentation and Strategy, Mike Omeri, said the document was circulated by a PDP presidential aspirant, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
But the Atiku Campaign Organisation, which circulated the document to journalists, insisted that Jonathan planned to rig the primaries and elections.
It said the document was prepared by the GSCO.
The Media Director of Atiku Group, Mallam Garba Sheu, said, “What we are trying to do is to bring the entire document to the understanding of the all stakeholders, local and international.”
But the Jonathan group said, “We totally deny ownership of this sinister document being circulated by the Atiku Campaign and challenge it to prove its veracity to Nigerians.”
The group recalled that on Friday, it raised the alarm over a sinister campaign by the AACO to smear the image of the President.
It said the AACO had circulated a 141-page document to some media houses purporting it to be the campaign strategy of the GSCO to manipulate the PDP presidential primaries.
It said it was surprised that some newspapers ran a story last Saturday in the AACO’s spokesman confirmed that it had such a document in its custody.
“This admission by Malam Garba shows clearly how desperate the Atiku Campaign and its principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have become in their burning desire to fly the presidential flag of the PDP in the general elections next year.
“These are interesting political times, and as we have seen, some politicians have become so desperate that they are prepared to do anything, including shedding the blood of Nigerians to achieve their political desires.”
The group, therefore, urged the media to be vigilant and ensure fairness and balance.
The GSCO said, “For the avoidance of doubt, we do not need to plan to manipulate a process that already clearly points to our success. As a campaign group, we are doing everything lawfully possible to win the January 13, 2011 presidential primaries of the party.
“We have identified and are engaging with the delegates to the primaries. We have visited 32 of the 36 state branches of our party to engage with the delegates; and President Jonathan has personally gone to four of the six geopolitical zones to meet with the delegates.”
It said that 21 out of the 26 PDP governors and all the six geo-political zones of our party had endorsed Jonathan.
The group added, “We as a disciplined campaign organisation cannot engage in actions that could undermine the electoral policy of our principal. President Jonathan has stated severally that he is committed to conducting the freest and fairest elections in our country.”
The document contains an alleged elaborate formula for the Jonathan campaign to undermine members of the opposition, compromise pro-democracy NGOs, religious leaders, electoral officials and security agencies.
The document also lists how alleged PDP operatives in each zone will be deployed to ensure Abubakar’s defeat in the primaries. Also, the document states that Abubakar’s business interests in Nigeria will be shut as a means of weakening his access to funds.
Source:punchng.com
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