Anti-card readers want to frustrate elections – BSO

The Buhari Support Organisation has said protests against the use of card readers in the forth coming general elections were aimed at derailing the elections.

Director of Media and Information Technology of the BSO, Dr.Chidia Maduekwe said this in Abuja, on Thursday.

He said the BSO abhors all efforts directed at forcing INEC and most specifically the Chairman, Prof Atahiru Jega to jettison the use of card readers that will ensure transparency of this election.

According to him, the BSO has it on good authority that the INEC Chairman was being blackmailed to either resign or stop the use of the globally accepted card reader.

Maduekwe said, “We recently witnessed thousands of Odua Peoples Congress and the Coalition of Concerned Nigerians’ members using armed thugs and gunshots renting the air to intimidate Lagosians.

“They took over major roads in Lagos on Monday demanding the sacking of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.”

He described as sad a situation where renegades were given state support to unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians with the aid of broken bottles and knives.

The BSO said it was becoming glaring that the protest in Lagos and parts of the South East, is a product of the recent N9bn contract allegedly given to the Odua Peoples Congress and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra by Jonathan to disrupt the elections.

The pro-Buhari group accused the PDP of desperation in its bid to hold on to power at all costs even if it means to plunge the country into crisis.

Maduekwe said, “We make bold to alert the world to hold the PDP responsible for any breach of security in Nigeria with these open sponsorship of armed militia today under the guidance of the government.

“The good people of Nigeria must resolve to ensure that nothing is done to short change our teeming population earnestly yearning for change. Jonathan’s Militia being paraded in the three south geo-political zones of the country should urgently be removed from our polity.”

Reacting to the allegations, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Abdullahi Jalo accused the BSO of being part of the desperation being exhibited by the opposition All Progressives Congress.

He said, “We are not surprised that all kinds of groups will come up to say what they like about the PDP and our dynamic President, we will not be distracted because we have the peoples’ mandate and they are trying to collect it.”