FG accuses opposition of lobbying foreign countries to discredit 2019 poll

Bonaventure Melah

The Federal Government has raised the alarm that opposition parties in Nigeria have embarked on lobbying foreign missions with the aim of discrediting the outcome of the 2019 general election even before its conduct. Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the allegation on Monday at a press conference organised for senior journalists at the National Press Centre, Abuja. To achieve their aim, the Minister said opposition is sending a group that would travel to western countries to instigate foreign governments against the coming election. According to Lai Mohammed, the desperation of the opposition stems from the fact that they are aware of their imminent defeat at the polls, therefore have resorted to international blackmail. “Recall that on Monday, January 21st 2019, we alerted the nation, also via a press conference, to the plot by some opposition elements to scuttle the 2019 general election by instigating widespread violence across the country. Of course we didn’t just make this up. It was based on credible intelligence. We revealed that the plan to scuttle the polls is part of moves to push the nation into a constitutional crisis, with the plotters hoping they can leverage on that to push for an interim government. When we raised the alarm, the opposition dismissed it. Of course they were shocked to have been found out, so we understand their panic reaction. “To underscore the seriousness of our alert, a week after our press conference, the National Security Adviser (NSA) met with state governors to also inform them of this same plan to scuttle the polls via widespread violence. As I said at my last press conference, the alarm we raised is based on credible intelligence. “Today, still based on credible intelligence, we can reveal that the opposition is moving a step further. They are working hard to discredit the forthcoming election before, during and after the polls. Specifically, they are sending a delegation to some Western capitals, including London, Brussels and Washington DC, to push the concocted line that the Buhari Administration has perfected the plan to rig the polls. They are therefore pushing for a rejection of the results if the President wins re-election. They are also predicting carnage in the event of the President’s victory,” he stated. Continuing, Lai Mohammed said that the opposition has set up a group to do dirty jobs in the manner similar to the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) which was used by opposition to scuttle the 1993 June 12 election. “They have been engaging in incendiary rhetoric and in making outlandish claims using several fronts, including the nebulous Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) which, by the way, is nothing more than a reincarnated Association for Better Nigeria (ABN). Of course you all know the role that the ABN played in the failed 1993 political transition process. “They have targeted, for attack, the two key institutions that are most critical to the success of the election: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police. They have used every malleable and malicious personality to make wild allegations against INEC. Their strategy is simple: Discredit the election even before it is held, and continue during and after the polls with a view to convincing the West – which they believe they have won to their side using lobbyist-propelled propaganda – that the election is not credible. “Some may ask: Why would the opposition go to this length? The answer is simple: They know, and are convinced, that they cannot win free, fair, credible and peaceful polls as the hand-writing in on the wall for all discerning people to see. While President Buhari has received warm and genuine reception and adulation from huge crowds everywhere he has gone to campaign, their candidate has been exposed to apathetic and thinning crowds! Their numbers just don’t add up! “On our part, we as an Administration are undaunted by their antics, even though we believe it is necessary to expose their evil plans – as we have been doing – to the world. President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly stated his commitment to ensuring a free, fair and violence-free election. He has no doubt – based on testimonies of change from Nigerians – that the achievements of his Administration, in the three cardinal areas of fighting corruption, revamping the economy and fighting insecurity, will speak for him at the polls. He did not rig his way into office and has no need to rig now that he is in office”. The Minister said the reason for the conference therefore was to alert Nigerians and the global community to the following to note that among other things, that the desperate opposition is doing everything possible, including instigating widespread violence as well as relentless attacks on key institutions, to discredit the forthcoming election. They know they will lose the election, but they want victory by subterfuge. “To further their plan, the opposition is dispatching a 10-member delegation to some Western capitals, including London, Brussels and Washington, DC, to sell the idea that the Buhari Administration has perfected the plan to rig the election. They have no empirical basis for the idea they are pushing, beyond relying on exploiting the nation’s ‘fault lines’ of religion, ethnicity and regionalism. “The opposition is approaching the election with an incredible level of desperation. In this regard, they have activated their own version of the infamous Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), under the guise of CUPP, to engage in unrestrained rabble-rousing and frivolous court cases. Of course, the activities of CUPP in recent times are there for all to see, even though the coalition seems to be a very poor imitation of the original ABN”. Asked whether the president is willing to accept the outcome of the election if defeated, the Minister said the president has confidence in the improved electoral process and would accept the outcome. Reminded that his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) also sought the vigilance of the international community in 2015 when they were in opposition, Mohammed said they are not against anybody visiting any country, adding however that they never asked for the election to be discredited. In conclusion, the Minister called on Nigerians to be vigilant “as we begin the final Count-down to the elections,” adding that eternal vigilance is necessary this time.