A public policy think tank, the NEO AFRICANA CENTRE, has expressed shock over rumors that some of the contenders for president in the elections on February 25 are in talks to unite with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in order to drop out of the race and support the PDP candidate. The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, was reported to be one of those who was considering dropping out of the race in favor of PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, the Center said in a statement released on Friday in Lagos. While the Center has always scoffed at such insinuations, it was deeply alarmed by the report.
The Center urged Nigerians to “avoid desperate politicians who wish to ride on the back of lie to earn a cheap political point,” saying it views “such an evil rumor with uttermost disdain.” According to the Centre, “nation-wreckers are trying to hide under the façade of politics to unleash disorder and uncertainty on the system,” it is also certain that this is the case. The organization urges voters to “be watchful and ignore desperate campaigns and their gimmicks” in order to achieve this.
Jenkins Udu, the Center’s Director of Public Affairs, wrote in a statement that it was unclear why anyone who wanted real change in the nation would ignore matters of national significance and focus instead on gossip and untruths. The PDP was urged to deny the rumor and “apologize to Peter Obi over the embarrassing insinuation.”
The statement reads in part: “As a body interested in issues of democracy, public policy, and good governance, we find such an unfounded rumor distracting and mischievous. It aims at diverting attention from the germane issues that should form the fulcrum of the campaigns and dwells instead on inanities and rumor-mongering. This is an act of desperation that should be shunned by well-meaning Nigerians.
“We would have indulged the fancies and fantasies of the desperate campaigners if they had chosen to use in vain the names of the presidential candidates that cannot be taken too seriously in the race. But to insinuate that a frontline presidential candidate like Peter Obi is considering withdrawing from the race is the height of absurdity. It is an assault on the psyche of Obi’s teeming supporters. Such cheap rumors can only appeal to the shallow imagination of its purveyors.
“May we alert Nigerians to the fact that the campaigns have entered a crucial endgame. At a time like this, desperadoes and buccaneers are bound to foul the atmosphere. This is already being seen in the dirty, drag-out fight between the presidential campaign councils of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. The unfounded rumors bordering on mergers and withdrawals could be another layer of this act of desperation. Nigerians should be vigilant lest unpatriotic elements drag them into the pit of hell.
“In the light of the foregoing, we call on the leadership of the PDP to, as a matter of honour, disclaim the toxic rumour and set the records straight. It should, particularly, apologize to Peter Obi over the embarrassing insinuation. This is the least that we expect from a political party that wants the people to entrust it with the leadership and destiny of the country.”