Written by Hassan Ibrahim, Adewale Ajayi, 'Laolu Afolabi and Adelowo Oladipo Thursday, 21 April 2011
in the conduct of the presidential election and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Professor Attahiru Jega, of insincerity while announcing the result.
Buhari, who urged supporters of CPC to come out en masse during the next election and cast their votes so as to capture all the states in the North, spoke in an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) Hausa service, monitored in Kaduna, on Wednesday.
He alleged that the election was massively rigged in the South while Jega had failed to take action when officials from some of the northern states alerted him to malpractices during the election.
He said it was wrong for people to take arms against one another in the name of religion, adding that he too was a victim of the crisis as his two cars were damaged by those on the rampage.
According to him, the crisis has nothing to do with the CPC or its supporters, saying his supporters should not be discouraged but come out with their voter cards and dislodge the PDP during the elections.
Buhari, however, made a U-turn from the earlier promise he made of not going to court to challenge the outcome of the presidential election, saying it was now a party decision not his and the party's lawyers were now preparing papers to challenge the outcome of the result in court.
The PDP, he alleged, was a bad party that must be chased out of the system in order to move ahead.
Commenting on the call by President Goodluck Jonathan that the opposition should work together with the government in the interest of the nation, Buhari said although it depended on the party, it would be impossible for the dog to work with the hyena.
He said Jega was a disappointment and had not helped matters when the CPC was allegedly short-changed in Katsina and in other states.
Meanwhile, the 24-hour curfew imposed by the Kaduna State government, following the violence that rocked the state, has been relaxed.
Governor Patrick Yakowa told the Kaduna people that henceforth, they could move freely between the hours of 1.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m., while from Thursday to Sunday, the people would be free to go about their normal business between 8.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.
This development led to long fuel queues and overcrowded markets in the state capital and environs. However, soldiers and security agents remained at alert in the state capital and beyond.
The crisis had further divided the city into two, as Christians were moving in hundreds to the Southern end of the city, while Muslims had overcrowded the northern part.
Governor Yakowa said in view of the gradual return to normalcy, the security council of the state met and decided to ease the 24-hour curfew earlier imposed on the state.
He warned that in spite of the relaxation of the curfew, security agencies in the state remained on alert and would enforce the new restriction order.
Meanwhile, Major-General Buhari has appealed to his supporters not to lose hope over the outcome of the presidential election, just as he promised to take necessary steps to address the alleged injustice.
Buhari, in a release sent to media houses by the spokesperson of his campaign, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said "we have commenced consultations at the highest levels to recover your stolen mandate. I would, therefore, urge you to continue to be patient."
In his message entitled Message of Peace and Hope to Nigerians, Buhari told his supporters to turn out in large numbers to vote the party candidates for gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections, just as he expressed his unhapi-ness with supporters tearing of their voter cards.
"Information has reached me that, out of frustration, some of you have been destroying your voter cards. This is a very grievous mistake, which is not going to solve any of your problems.
"I urge you to preserve and safeguard your cards and come out en masse on Tuesday to vote out and disgrace your oppressors, who have stolen your votes. If you don't do this, it is to be feared that all your efforts will have been in vain," he said.
General Buhari reiterated his condemnation of the mayhem that greeted the outcome of the presidential election in the North and urged his supporters not to engage in any unlawful act.
"As I pointed out in my earlier address to you, it is wrong for you to allow miscreants to infiltrate your ranks and perpetrate such dastardly acts as the mindless destruction of worship places. Needless to say, this act is worse than the rigging of the elections," the statement read.
In another development, the United States (US) government has congratulated President Jonathan on his victory at the April 16 presidential election in the country and said the election represented a positive new beginning for Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and made available to newsmen, the US also applauded the people of Nigeria for their enthusiastic and orderly participation in the election.
According to the statement, the event marked a dramatic shift from decades of failed elections and a substantial improvement over the 2007 presidential election in Nigeria.
The US government, however, said though the election was a success, it was far from being perfect, while it urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review and take appropriate action on all allegations of "underage" voters, violence and intimidation, ballot stuffing and inordinately high turnout in some areas of the country.
It condemned the acts of violence related to elections and called on candidates, political parties and supporters to respect the results of the election and channel any grievances or challenges through established, administrative and legal redress.
The statement said the international community would closely monitor the upcoming gubernatorial election, while it called on Nigerian stakeholders to support a credible and peaceful electoral process.
The US, in the statement, commended the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, along with many others in government and civil society for what it termed "strong collaboration and dedication to democracy," adding that they provided a real opportunity for Nigerians to elect their leaders.
It, therefore, wished President Jonathan well in meeting the many challenges facing Nigeria and in providing good governance Nigerians deserve.
Also, the president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, has congratulated President Jonathan on his election, saying that it was a step towards consolidating democracy and strengthening good governance in Nigeria.
This was contained in a letter to Jonathan, made available to the Europe correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in London.
"I know you intend to transform Nigeria and I can assure you that France is determined to provide you its full support for this ambitious project," Sarkozy wrote.
He further expressed his gratitude to the president for his commitment to the management of the Ivorian and Libyan crises.
"We have to continue our dialogue on these major issues; your role is essential both within Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and within the United Nations (UN) Security council," Sarkozy added.
Sarkozy also reiterated his country's commitment to strengthening its partnership with Nigeria, on the basis of agreements made during the tenure of the late President Umaru Yar'Adua in June 2008.
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