The Presidency has refuted allegation by the ACN that the Federal Government is deliberately promoting policies to plunge the nation into crisis with the aim of scuttling the 2015 elections.
The opposition party made the allegation on Sunday at a news conference in Lagos addressed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
A statement on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, reacting to the allegation, stated that it was a deliberate mis-information tactics.
Abati said the allegation was a “well organised campaign by the opposition designed to mislead the public, discredit the person and office of President Goodluck Jonathan and cause disaffection within the polity’’.
He said that the opposition was trying to exploit real challenges confronting the nation by using unrelated events and hoping to use such patterns and trends to build a “conspiratorial case”.
“Like all conspiracies, the case made fell quickly like a pack of cards when confronted with the facts.
“It is a fact that President Goodluck Jonathan has presided over major elections since his assumption of office.”
He cited the 2011 general elections, the 2012 state governorship elections in Edo, Kogi, Adamawa, Sokoto, Cross River and Bayelsa as well as other elections in different parts of the country.
According to Abati, the elections are all adjudged by local and international observers as free, fair and peaceful.
“President Jonathan’s commitment to electoral reforms which is founded on the ‘one-man-one vote’ ethos, underscores the administration’s belief and commitment to an emerging political culture that is inclusive, participatory and transparent.
“The integrity of elections is without doubt one of the major achievements of this administration; it remains a legacy issue for President Jonathan.’’
Abati also refuted the claim by the ACN that the Federal Government had awarded an oil pipeline protection contract to serve as a smokescreen to fund activities that would create chaos in the South-West.
“The more alarming aspect of the disingenuous press conference was the deliberate attempt to exploit religious and ethnic differences among citizens to create a state of siege and fear ahead of the 2015 elections.
Abati said the allegations were false and grossly misleading.