The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has alleged that the presidency is planning to offer some presidential candidates of some political parties N40 million each to attend a joint press briefing where they would collectively ask Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to accept defeat and not go to court.
The CUPP in a statement by its first National Publicity Secretary, Imo Ugochinyere, says it is in possession of the information of a meeting hosted by the Attorney General of the Federation with some Presidential candidates of political parties wherein the Attorney General agreed on behalf of the Presidency that each candidate would receive the sum of N40 million if they would say that the February 23 presidential election was free and fair.
The statement reads: “Opposition political parties are in possession of detailed information that in their desperate bid to force President Muhammadu Buhari on the country despite his abysmal performance during the February 23 presidential election, some government officials led by the Attorney General have started moves to compromise some political parties and Presidential candidates.
“We learnt authoritatively that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, is spearheading this move meant to force opposition consensus candidate in the election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to accept the result and stop his plan which is already at advanced stage to contest the result in court.
Malami has already held series of meetings with chairmen, secretaries and presidential candidates of these political parties that participated in the election.
The Federal Government will be making huge amount of money available to them to enable them to organise press conferences during which they will be calling on Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party to accept “defeat” and not go to court to challenge the election result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
If indeed they are convinced that President Buhari won the election as they want the world to believe, why are they desperate to buy political parties into asking Atiku to drop the idea of going to court?
We make bold to say that no amount of pressure from sponsored political parties or groups will make the PDP presidential candidate jettison his desire to approach the court to retrieve his stolen mandate.
Let the political parties that have resolved to sell their birthright for a pot of porridge also know that we are watching and history will not judge them right if they decide to collaborate with enemies of democracy to continue to subvert the will of Nigerians.
Having failed in their earlier bid to hire some women in the Federal Capital Territory to march on the streets and demand that Alhaji Atiku should not go to court, the next move is to gather Presidential candidates.
President Buhari is in such a desperate mood now that he approves any stated amount he is told for whatever will make Alhaji Atiku not to go to Court. He knows that he is temporarily holding a mandate that belongs to another but is desperate not to want to release it.
We are also informed that groups like the NANS, NYCN and socio-cultural youth groups like Arewa Youths, Ohanaeze youths and Odua youths are also penciled down for financial mobilization so as to get them all to march and ask Alhaji Atiku Abubakar not to go to Court.
We make it clear, emphatic and categorical to the Presidency and all their agents and future hirelings that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will not mortgage the interest of Nigerians for any purpose. Not threats, not intimidation and harassment and certainly not the procured call of a few hirelings.
We hereby caution President Muhammadu Buhari to stop dissipating energy and wasting resources on fruitless projects just out of his desperation to hang on to power. All these moves will not yield any result in his favour as Alhaji Atiku will test the declaration of INEC in the Tribunal.
We still wonder why the President will grandstand in public that he won a free and fair election yet has been running from pillar to post seeking to buy legitimacy.
Unfortunately, he came a lot late as the train has already left the train station. There is sufficient evidence to prove that the President is in possession of an illegitimate mandate and this is the priority and only focus of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.