|13 November 2018 |Ukorebi Esien
A political support group for the election and re-election bid of Alhaji Atiku Abubaka and Sen Prof. Ben Ayade as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Governor of Cross River State respectively, known as Cross River Youth For Ayade and Atiku (CRYFAA) have in very strong terms condemned the actions of security agencies reported to have mounted a security search on the private jet and the person of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubaka on his way back from Dubai at the Abuja international airport.
Speaking in a telephone conversation, Arch, Erik Akpo, the CEO of CRYFAA said the act of searching their principal was not only intimidating but an act capable of truncating the nation's democracy as it wasn't democratic both in principles and practice.
Arch Akpo who described Atiku Abubaka as "the sure incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria" whom ...the whole country is looking up to clean up the mess the country has been thrown into, wondered why such an inhumane action will be merted on him as he sought for justification of such an act by the security agencies.
Further more, comrade Akpo, warned that any further act of intimidation will be fully resisted by Nigeria Youths especially during the 2019 general elections, as he hinted that his group is working tirelessly to ensure Atiku's victory at the polls come 2019.
The statement reads in full:
First of all I want to say that the Youths of Cross River State and the entire members of Cross River Youths For Ayade and Atiku, CRYFAA condemns the act of intimidation on our principal and the presidential candidate of the PDP, his excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubaka at the airport.
The search of his aircraft and his belongings by security men at the airport in Abuja shows a total disregard and total disrespect for the rule of law.
How can you subject the presidential candidate of a party, the presidential hopeful of the people, the sure incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into such disrespect after all attempt to smear his name and person and character with all forms of lies and by Mr. Lia Mohamed?
And after all these have failed you now come to search him? Based on what allegations? What was the intention of the search? What kind of inhuman treatment was that?
How can you decide to put somebody the whole country is looking up to, to bring out the country from this mess the country has been thrown into? How can you subject such a person through all these?
We can no longer as youths keep quiet and watch all these things happen. We want to say it very emphatically that it should not happen again because we are not going to allow the government of the day to use intimadations, to use security agencies that use weapons bought with tax payers monies to intimidate the will of the people, to intimidate the will of the people.
Fear was used to cow the people, to chase the PDP supporters away from the elections in Osun state,
so that they will be able to perfect all the election malpractice that they did and bring out a sham of a result which we have seen as the result of Osun state gubernatorial elections.
The Youths of Cross River State, infact the Youths of Nigeria as a whole will not allow that can of scenari to replay itself in this 2019 elections. So henceforth we want to make a very sound warning that the APC led government should desist from using intimidation to displace the opposition party.
We are steadfast and very focused on changing the government of the day we want to reverse the misfortune that the APC has brought upon us. And we will not at any point in time bulge to this, and that there's no form of intimidation, no form of force that will make us shy away from this .
We hope that this will be a message that will go far and wide and will reach the topmost rank amongst the APC.
All lending his voice, the Director General of CRYFAA, Mr. Esuong Uwase Esuong has said that Atiku like every other Nigerian has the fundamental human Right to travel out of the country and come back when ever he wishes without being intimidated just because he is contesting an election.
Mr. Esuong who insisted that the search on the PDP's presidential flag bearer had a political undertone and was arranged from the presidency said the search on Atiku at the Abuja international airport had gone beyond the normal routine security checks due to the number of military men who carried out the search, he emphasized that searching Atiku's personal aircraft, belongings and even to the point of searching his private documents were all pointers to the fact that it wasn't just an ordinary search.
He further questioned if it was wrong to contest an election against an incumbent while taking us back to 2015 when Buhari was busy travelling up and down without any form of intimidation by the the then incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
The DG who whose expression was filled with anger warned that as we approach the 2019 general elections democracy should prevail in all maters and the people's mandate through their PVC's should not be denied.
Ukorebi Esien blogs for Thedailynewsng where he tells the Nigerian story one article at a time
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