The presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari, was on Monday barred from using Mapo Hall for the southwest launch of his campaign rally in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. But that did not stop the former head of state, who was greeted by a jubilant crowd which had waited hours for the event to start.
The rally had been scheduled to begin at 1pm, but kicked off around 5.20pm. Mr. Buhari, on his way to Ibadan, had stopped to visit some traditional rulers in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, and the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye. There had been a disagreement between the CPC and the Oyo State government over the use of the colonial-style city hall perched on top of Mapo Hill, Ibadan, over the weekend. While the CPC claimed it had paid in advance for Mapo Hall, the state government said it had allocated the hall to a team that would be hosting the nation’s first lady, Patience Jonathan, today.
The rally held on the grounds in front of Mapo Hall. ‘Liars and cheats’ According to Yinka Odumakin, the spokesperson for Mr. Buhari, the state government’s decision to deny the CPC the use of Mapo Hall again exposed the ruling PDP and its leaders as a gang of cheats, liars and an integrity-deficient outfit. Mr. Odumakin attached a receipt, given to the party after it booked the hall, to a statement he issued. He said that the police had been informed of the date and venue of the rally, and approval had been given.
“It was to our consternation that the management of the facility rudely informed our officials, who went to prepare the venue 48 hours to the D-Day, that we could no longer use the place because the wife of the president, Patience Jonathan, would be holding an event at the same venue 24 hours after our rally.”
Mr. Odumakin said. He also spoke harshly about the governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, describing him as a liar for adding “a ridiculous dimension to the whole saga when he lied that the hiccup was because we changed our rally date”. “The attached receipts from Ibadan Local Governments Properties Co. Limited, the official managers of Mapo Hall, showed the date CPC booked Mapo Hall and the subsequent official acceptance of CPC’s use of Mapo Hall on the new rally date, 14th March 2011,” he said. “This contradicts the false account of the Oyo State government.” Presidential promises Speaking to the crowd of supporters, Mr. Buhari gave his assurance that rigging would be impossible in the next election, saying “there is no more culture of rigging in Nigeria”.
The former head of state urged the people to take the elections seriously and ensure that they did not only vote, but also protect their votes by following them up to the collation centres. “We will make sure that every penny in the treasury belongs to the people and is spent on them,” he said. “All the CPC candidates will be completely accountable to the people who entrust them with power when they get to power.”
Reeling out his agenda, the CPC candidate said the party planned to provide jobs, good roads, potable water and security across the country. Speaking earlier, Tunde Bakare, vice presidential candidate of the CPC and pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, urged Nigerians to vote for his party, saying they would rewrite the history of the country and bring back its lost glory. Mr. Bakare said that the party was taking the issue of education seriously as well as planning to return the country to true federal status. Party matters Mr. Buhari presented the party’s flag to Adebayo Shittu as the Oyo State governorship candidate, a move which settled the controversy over who would fly the party’s gubernatorial flag. The national leadership of the CPC had formally endorsed the candidacy of Mr. Shittu as flagbearer, but the crisis still persisted. Mr. Shittu and another candidate, Taiwo Ibrahim, had emerged from parallel governorship primaries held in the state.
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