Artificial Fuel Scarcity: Tighten up your strategy against opposition as Yuletide approaches – Concerned Citizens urge FG, APC

*Call for probe of Atiku’s over N47 billion PDP primaries spending

*Arresting political criminals not opposition persecution – Nigerians

*Win more popularity by pardoning remnants of Diya and co jilted by PDP, Jonathan – Respondents

By KEMI KASUMU and BUSOLA SAMUEL

“So long what you do is squarely based on the law and not malice, not even any member of opposition should be spared by the security agencies and the long hand of the law must not fail to catch up with them.  They must be picked, regardless of whether it is election period or not.  The PDP opposition of today are smarter.  They are committing their crimes near elections so that they can be able to cry persecution but trust Buhari anyway, even his Muslim or Fulani man cannot go free in this kind of situation,” he said.

Some concerned citizens have foretold the Federal Government of Nigeria and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to tighten up their nooks against possible conspiracy between opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some “unscrupulous” fuel marketers to use concocted fuel scarcity as campaign tool ahead of 2019 general elections.

One of them, Adedoyin Fusika, who spoke to The DEFENDER in Lagos on Saturday, said the strategies of all self-centered politicians include the use of things that they know would quickly aggravate tension among the masses and that, from experience, “artificial fuel scarcity is one of these strategies”.

He said, “We are concerned more because of the man that has become their Presidential Candidate and this is important because that is one of the things he can be up to.  Atiku is desperate, more so when in is now working in collaboration with other desperate people like Olusegun Obasanjo, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukuh who led Goodluck Jonathan to President Muhammadu asking the President not to prove him and also to stop his anti-corruption war and some Afenifere and Igbo leaders whose interests are mainly self-pockets and stomachs.

“Don’t forget that it can only take a desperate man seeking political office as high as the office of the President to spend over N47 billion only at intra-party primary election level.  Atiku will do anything humanly possible to cause confusion in the land to get his way.  But we also have confidence in the Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration that he will give it back to them more than they bargain for.  We must still speak out, however, because we must not rest on our oars,” he said.

Another member of the dialogue, Wale Ogunyemi, expressed concerned why no media person has raised issue over the spending of over N47 billion just to get PDP’s presidential ticket.

He asked, “Nigerians and the media, where is our conscience? Were you not the people that raised issues of electoral law breach when some well-to-do Nigerians put their money together to purchase the All Progressives Congress (APC) Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for President Muhammadu Buhari as an aspirant? How come you now fail to talk when globally it has become open how a single person that is now PDP’s presidential candidate spent over N47 billion to get ticket?

“Anyway we are waiting for the CSOs response in moments to come to this complete fraud that is even worse than ordinary vote-buying and the attitude of the media in the country to it will determine how we trust them in days to come.  Yes, I have said so because what the media make us to now think of them is that, they are for PDP because that is where the only spenders are.  And have they even ever supported Buhari since he started? Go and write it like that except you want to block this from being published because you too are journalist, he said to this reporter.

He continued, “But those responsible for enforcement of laws must dealt with this Atiku’s over N47 billion at PDP primary.  We are not unaware that some professionals are already overlooking this electoral crime saying it is normal in politics.  If these same professionals saying Atiku’s N47 billion spent at primaries is normal in politics but they were loudly heard when what the Buhari’s forms bought by some individuals without contravention of any law, we can then urge Nigerians to open their eyes about which media practitioners they believe,” he said.

In the meantime, some other Nigerians, responding to allegation of opposition persecution by some PDP politicians, have encouraged the government not to look at the “crocodile tears” and public outcry of some politicians about the way criminals in the society are being dealt with.

One of them, who asked not to be mentioned, said, “So long what you do is squarely based on the law and not malice, not even any member of opposition should be spared by the security agencies and the long hand of the law must not fail to catch up with them.  They must be picked, regardless of whether it is election period or not.  The PDP opposition of today are smarter.  They are committing their crimes near elections so that they can be able to cry persecution but trust Buhari anyway, even his Muslim or Fulani man cannot go free in this kind of situation,” he said.

Speaking specifically on how President Buhari can win more popularity, they said the President should do some pardon in the remaining months to the end of 2018, especially in regions where Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP government were said to have left some Army officers of Diya’s fathomed coup group in the cold whereas he went ahead and pardoned Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya the main issue in the coup and corrupt Diepreye Alaiyemeiseigha,