Elder statesman and former civilian governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa has said that he will lead massive protest by majority of Nigerians if the forthcoming general election is shifted again.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier shifted the 2015 general election from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11, giving unabated Boko Haram bloody activities in North East as one of the reasons for the shift.
Speaking with journalists yesterday, shortly after a meeting of the national executive committee of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Musa who is the national chairman of the deregistered PRP said election could hold with or without the insurgency taking charge of small portion of the country.
He warned that the power -that- be should not take Nigerians for a ride, saying that no Nigerian is a slave nor did the country belonged to a group of Nigerians.
Musa said, “If election is shifted again, majority of Nigerians will oppose it, they will demonstrate against it, Nigerians will come out massively to oppose because another shift will not be in their interest. Another shift will mean that government wants to remain in power.
“If therefore a six weeks delay is the sacrifice which Nigerians had to make to ensure that every registered voter was given an opportunity to exercise (or not to exercise) his constitutional right to vote, so be it. But Nigerians cannot tolerate anymore shifting of election date.
“We will not tolerate another shift because we are not any body’s slave, we are free people, and this country is free, this country belongs to all of us, it does not belong to a clique.
“Continuation of Boko Haram activities is not an excuse to shift election again because Boko Haram is occupying less than 14 percent of Nigeria, we can tolerate this, we should conduct election inspite of the insurgency, the moment we can have free, fair and transparent election, leading to eligible government in the country, even Boko Haram will respect such government, and they will go to a negotiating table.
“It is unfortunate that to contest a presidential election in this country, one needs N50 billion to use for campaign, so I believe that both Jonathan and Buhari must have respectively raised the money. They are contesting, so they must have the money.
“None of them should deceive himself that he cannot get the money, after all both of them control government and political campaign in the country is done with government money for those who are in power.
“Both of them are in power both at the State and Federal levels, PDP have the federal government and 21 States, and APC has 14 States, so they are in government”.
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