The bid by supporters of the various political parties to use the social media as a focal battleground and shape public opinion in favour of their preferred candidates has set presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, on a warpath.
In the past few months, the social media platforms had been plunged into a degenerate form of political debates, with supporters of the respective presidential candidates in the country engaged in invectives, mudslinging, and name-calling with incisive vituperations.
Miffed by the development, presidential candidate of the APC, Tinubu, yesterday asked the LP flagbearer, Obi, to call his supporters to order over their unguarded utterances.
Tinubu implored Obi to tell his supporters to stop propagating falsehood and disparaging him and other presidential candidates for the 2023 presidential poll.
He said certain activities by members of the ‘Obedient’ Movement on social media were proof that Biafra campaigners and Obi’s supporters are the same.
But hitting back at Tinubu, Obi described as the height of mischief the attempt by the APC standard bearer to link his campaign to Biafra and the Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Tinubu, who spoke through his director of Media and Communications, Bayo Onanuga, had advised Obi and his supporters to allow the electioneering process to be issue-based, such that would advance the growth, progress and stability of the country.
He said Nigeria would be better off “and the electoral process will be enriched if the 2023 presidential campaign sticks to issues of good governance that will lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty rather than being dominated by the ravings of guttersnipes, who do not wish the country well.”
In a statement he issued yesterday, Onanuga noted that it became necessary for the Tinubu Campaign Organisation to appeal to Obi to rein in his supporters after investigating the origin of the fake report claiming that the Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo wrote a letter to Tinubu, asking him to support Obi and take care of his health.
Onanuga said the president of Ghana had debunked the fake news as a product of deliberate mischief with the intent to deceive the public.
He quoted the Ghanaian president as writing in his official Twitter account: “I have written no such letter to the APC leader, and it will not occur to me to do so. Ghana and Nigeria boast of decades of cordial, strong and brotherly relations, and I am not going to be the one to interfere in the internal affairs and politics of Nigeria.”
The Tinubu campaign spokesman said it was later discovered that “the fake news about Akufo-Addo’s letter was first published on June 22 by a rogue platform, whose url reads as worlsnews.space (sic) and site identity as World of News”, a discovery which he said is a proof that Biafra campaigners and Peter Obi supporters are the same.
Onanuga continued: “A content analysis of the site clearly showed that it is a Biafra news platform. The fake news was reposted on Facebook by Peter Obi Support Group, the same day – a clear proof that Biafra campaigners and Peter Obi supporters are the same.
“Both the Facebook account and the website are replete with fake stories about Bola Tinubu, including a fake story credited to former governor Akinwunmi Ambode, alleging that Tinubu demanded N50billion monthly payment from him. The spuriousness of the statement is in the evidence that Lagos did not begin to clock N50billion revenue until after Ambode left office. Tinubu could not have demanded N50billion monthly payment from Ambode when the state government didn’t make such in a month throughout the tenure of Mr. Ambode.
“The pirate website, which the Facebook account feeds on also parades malicious fake news and headlines such as “I am old, but my blood is young, please vote for me – Tinubu begs youth.
“There is also the wicked of all headlines: When I become president, I will Build more prison (sic) for Igbo’s and IPOB members – Tinubu”.
But firing back, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Obi, who aligned with the position of his APC counterpart that campaigns for the coming 2023 general election should be issue-based rather than trying to run down opponents, however took exception to Tinubu’s claim that his supporters were members of Biafra.
Speaking through his media adviser, Valentine Obienyem, Obi stated that Tinubu’s advice “exactly mirrored what Obi had propagated over the years”.
He stated that if Tinubu’s supporters were mindful of their principal’s advice, “some articles published in some newspapers against Obi would not have been published, including those with offensive titles”.
On the alleged fake letter from the president of Ghana and the alleged request of N50billion monthly payment, Obi said while he was not bothered about their authenticity, it was wickedness to link them to his supporters, insisting that any publication from his group was always properly signed and the place it was coming from very clearly spelt out.
Obi also described as the height of mischief, the attempt to link his campaign to IPOB.
Obienyem said: “We know that things are not well in Nigeria. We know of the agitations in different parts of the country, our principal has always said what he would do with such organisations to stop their agitation and bring them back to Nigeria as one happy family.
He insisted that right from wehen Obi was governor, he was not known for the habit of attacking people or building lies against others.
He said Obi’s disposition was contrary to those of some of his opponents who he said actually originated most of the fake news, published them under false names and turned round to ascribe them to Obi or his supporters.
Pope Hasn’t Told Me To Reject APC Campaign DG Appointment – Lalong
Meanwhile, the director-general of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said yesterday that as a Catholic, he has not been told by the Pope that accepting to lead the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket was wrong.
Governor Lalong also denied the allegation that he lobbied to become running mate to the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu, for the 2023 polls.
Lalong who spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa said as a born, baptized and confirmed Catholic, who has the highest award from the Papacy, Knight of Saint Gregory the Great, the Pope has not told him that it was wrong for him to be the DG of a Muslim-Muslim presidential campaign team.
He said that the Plateau State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) came to the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos, to welcome him after he was appointed the APC presidential campaign DG.
He berated some Christian leaders asking him to reject the appointment, saying the appointment was strictly a party affair and has nothing to do with religion.
He said, “In fact, I am a member of the APC, a founding member of the APC. I don’t do anti-party activities. Some people said because I was denied VP. I did not lobby for VP.
“For those who are talking about …, I don’t even know where they are. I Hold a Papa Night and as a Catholic, everything we do, we do it and we send the advice to the Pope. The Pope has not told me that what I’m doing is bad, to accept (to be) Director-General. As a Catholic, we take that direction.
“When it comes to politics, it’s a matter of choice, a matter of interest. In every political party, you have Christians and Muslims, in every political party, there’s opportunity for you to vote for a Christian or to vote for a Muslim.
“If you don’t want a Muslim, you wait until election when you’ll vote your choice. If you don’t want a Christian, you will go there and go to vote”.
The governor said he was at the presidential villa to thank the president for approving numerous infrastructural projects and for granting presidential pardon to former governor of the state, Senator Joshua Dariye, as well as a former governor of Taraba State, Rev Jolly Nyame, who were convicted for corruption.
Plateau Governor’s Emergence Has Pacified Northern APC Christians – Stakeholders
Similarly, a group of APC stakeholders under the auspices of Northern Christian Network (NCN) yesterday said the choice of Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, as the director general of the APC Presidential Campaign Council was a perfect soft landing for the ruling party which has pacified members of the party who are northern Christians.
Convener of the group, Mshelia Lazarus made the position of the Northern Christian Network in a statement issued in Abuja.
The group, while congratulating Lalong on his emergence as the campaign DG, expressed confidence in his capacity to deliver.
According to the group, the choice of Lalong would to a greater extent douse the raging controversies and heated debates being generated over the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.
The group urged critical stakeholders from in the country, especially the North Central geopolitical zone where Lalong hails from, to rally round one of their own to enable him succeed in the given task.
It also appealed to Christians in the country to see Lalong as one of their own who would ensure their interest is well protected in the ruling party.
Lazarus said Lalong will be a master stroke and game changer for the Asiwaju when the campaigns commence.
He stated: “Lalong is a quintessential and grassroots politician who will be able to galvanize his influence in delivering victory for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“The choice of Lalong who is an influential Northern politician and a devoted but detrabalised Christian from the ruling party, will no doubt, kindle hope among the Christian community in the country.
“Lalong, who is the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum was able to galvanized and rally all his colleagues from the North to insist on power shift to the South.
“He was instrumental in seeing to it that the cabals who were bent on foisting a Northern candidate on the party as flag bearer did not succeed , thus, paving the way for the seamless emergence of Tinubu at the convention in Abuja. The last minute intervention of the Lalong-led NGF changed the equation in favour of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu”.
The group recalled the efforts of Lalong in engendering peace and harmonious living on the Plateau, saying his emergence would be a game changer for the party.
Middle Belt Youths Ask Shettima To Step Down As Tinubu’s running Mate
But the Middle Belt Congress yesterday appealed to former Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, to step down from his role as the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The move, according to the group, will potentially save the party from impending electoral misfortune in 2023 and entrench religious harmony.
The Middle Belt Congress stated this at a press conference addressed by its president, Mohammed Bilal.
Bilal said the party’s national acceptance had dwindled following Shettima’s nomination, adding that by picking a fellow Muslim to run alongside Bola Tinubu, the APC has displayed a religious insensitivity to the plurality of the nation.
Describing Shetimma as a friend of the Christian community in Nigeria, the Middle Belt Congress said it was disappointing that he went ahead to be a part of a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the face of religious and ethnic tension.
We Can’t Afford To Be Distracted By Religion – Akeredolu
On his part, Ondo State governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday condemned the incursion of religion into the political arena of the country, adding that it portends danger for the polity ahead of the 2023 general election.
Governor Akeredolu who stressed that the solution to the challenges faced in the country will not be found in the faiths of individuals noted that a person’s religious persuasion is based on personal conviction.
Pointing out that the public space must remain secular the governor noted that the current agitations for a faith-based political representation are anchored on a certain misapprehension of the requirements for leadership in a multi-ethnic state such as Nigeria.
The governor spoke during the Monograph of Memorial Lecture and Celebration of Life of Professor Bankole Olusiji Oke, at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
Dlivering the Lecture titled “Nigeria: The Politics Of Religion In A Transitional Society”, Akeredolu noted that the incursion of religious agitation is driven by mischief to set the people against themselves to attain political power.
He added that any religious leader who ignores knowledge and competence as necessary criteria for measuring leadership capacity is an apostate.
The governor warned that the earlier the people stop the dangerous and divisive faith-based campaign the better for the country, adding that any war fought to establish the supremacy of faith over others can only end in tears.
“The manipulative skills of politicians as being currently put to use will aggravate an already bad situation,” a statement by his chief press secretary, Richard Olatunde, quoted the governor as saying.
GAkeredolu explained that the clamour for the restructuring of the polity and agitation for power shift must gain prominence over the debate on representation based on religion.
