The All Progressives Congress, APC, its National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, presidential aspirant and former Head of State, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, led thousands of party supporters in a protest rally in Abuja, accusing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of playing politics with Boko Haram.
The protest themed ‘Salvation Rally’, was aimed at drawing global attention to what the opposition party described as deliberate hijack of the Nigeria police and other security agencies by the ruling PDP.
According to APC, the rally was essentially a clarion call against the increased spate of insecurity, killings, corruption, and police brutality against official opposition.
They also accused President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP of gross incompetence and unprecedented display of impunity.
Others at the event which started at the Eagle Square in Abuja through to the Police headquarters, were former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; APC’s deputy national chairman, North-East, Senator Shuaibu Lawal; Senator Ali Ndume, Shaba Lafiagi and Senator Gbenga Ashafa.
Speaking at the rally, the opposition leaders took turns to lambast the Federal Government, saying that President Jonathan has failed Nigerians in all ramifications.
At the rally, Governor Amaechi who told the crowd of mainly APC supporters, that the rally would mark the end of PDP’s impunity in the country.
According to him, restoring the withdrawn security details of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and stopping the insurgency in the North-East amongst others were the demands President Jonathan must accede to.
He said: “Today will mark the beginning of our resistance to the President’s attempt at owning the Nigeria Police and keeping the military in his pocket. They are either the Nigeria Police or Goodluck Jonathan’s Police. They must choose one from today. Today, all of us must decide as a nation whether we will allow the President to continue to disobey court orders. The court has said that he should give back the Speaker his security details, and the President has disobeyed.
“Today, the President must tell us why our brothers and sisters are dying in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states and they are here enjoying in Abuja. The President must answer that; why is he comfortable and Nigerians are dying. Today, the insult of what they called stomach democracy must stop. This stomach infrastructure must stop.
“Today is the choice to stop the President from defeating our interest to be Nigerians, the interest to become responsible for our own lives and choose their president. Today, the President must tell us why he stopped INEC from distributing the polling units on population basis. Today, the President must tell us whether he is our president, regional president or an ethnic president.
“It is your choice to make. I am a governor but I am also a citizen. I think as citizens of Nigeria, today is the beginning for a struggle for democracy. You know we don’t have democracy any more in Nigeria. What we have in Nigeria now is diarchy. Diarchy is a government headed by a civilian but under the support of the military. Today the President sits with the military against you and I. Today, we are told that the military will take over our elections. We must stop them today. It is your choice to make.”
Former Head of State, Gen. Buhari asked the people to vote the PDP out of power next year. “The aim of this rally has already been explained by the chairman, the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Amaechi and the subsequent speakers have already explained why we are here. This is supposed to be part of the series of activities that the APC has lined up between now up to the general elections in 2015.
“We started here in Abuja because this is the federal capital. It belongs to all Nigerians. It is placed in the centre of the country. These activities will be conducted in the states and then it will continue until we go to general elections.