Outrage over Fayose’s advert on Buhari

A front page advertisement by Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose which insinuated that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Gen Muhammadu Buhari might die in office has sparked outrage across Nigeria.The advertisement, published by three national dailies, suggested Buhari might die in the manner three former leaders from the north had died if elected into […]

A front page advertisement by Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose which insinuated that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Gen Muhammadu Buhari might die in office has sparked outrage across Nigeria.
The advertisement, published by three national dailies, suggested Buhari might die in the manner three former leaders from the north had died if elected into office. They were late President Umaru Musa Yarádua, Gen Sani Abacha and Gen Murtala Mohammed (military Heads of State).
Yarádua died in Abuja in May 2010, Gen Abacha also died in Abuja in August 1998 and  Gen Murtala was assassinated in Lagos in February 1976.
The advert read: “Nigerians be warned.” It then went ahead to quote a verse not the Bible: I have set before thee LIFE & DEATH. Therefore choose life that both thee and thy seed may LIVE. Deut 30 vs 19.
In the advert, the pictures of the deceased leaders were arrange in a row with a question mark hanging boldly across Buhari’s face.
‘Will you allow history to repeat itself?’ the advert asked, adding ENOUGH OF STATE BURIALS.
It concluded by asking Nigerians to “vote wisely, Vote  Goodluck Jonathan. Northern Presidency should wait till 2019.”
In a sharp reaction, the APC Presidential Campaign Council yesterday said some elements within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party were planning to assassinate Muhammadu Buhari before or after the February 14 elections.
It said the on-going campaign on Buhari’s health, using forged medical reports, and now suggestions of death are reeking of plots to eliminate him before or after he wins.
“The whole world is watching and that if anything happens to General Muhammadu Buhari before, during or after the elections, under the pretext of X, Y, or Z, we shall be left with no option than to conclude that the PDP and their surrogates are to be held accountable,” a statement by Media and Publicity Director Malam Garba Shehu said.
The campaign described the advertisement  as “the height of desperate tactics by the PDP, which is capable of degenerating into unnecessary bloodshed and destruction. They are choosing death for us. This is not politics.”
The APC campaign council urged President Jonathan and the PDP leadership to take charge of their campaign for re-election before their surrogates plunged Nigeria into confusion and anarchy.
The statement reminded the president that “even as a candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has a duty to lead the country with responsibility up until May 29, when a new President will be inaugurated.”
The Buhari campaign council appealed to “all APC members and millions of supporters of Buhari across the country not to play into the hands of the PDP hatchet men to be provoked and thereby, giving them the much-needed excuse to abort this democracy before or after the elections.”
It said the APC campaign remained faithfully committed to the peace accord signed by the country’s political parties under the auspices of Ambassador Kofi Annan.
The council however alleged that the PDP was paying lip service to this commitment by trying to stoke the embers of hate and engage in smear campaign, adding this was inconsistent with the commitment to peace.
The statement also advised the police, the SSS, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the advertising regulatory agency (APCON) to check the trend of these dangerous campaigns.
“Once again, the APC campaign advises all its supporters to strive to stay above the “rofo-rofo”, which is clearly designed to provoke our supporters to help the PDP sinister agenda to abort this hard fought for democracy in view of their impending defeat in the forthcoming general elections,” the campaign organisation said.
It added that petitions were being sent to Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), INEC, DSS, Nigeria Police and concerned newspapers involved to protest this “malicious death wish”.  
Advert is highly indecent – INEC
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said the advertisement by Fayose on Buhari was “highly indecent.”
Spokesperson to INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu told Daily Trust yesterday that although the commission was yet to issue official position on such advertisement, the INEC chairman views it as a clear violation of the pact signed for a violence-free electioneering.
“The commission is yet to make an official statement on that, but it is obvious to everybody that the political players have signed an agreement to run their campaigns on issue-based and it is expected they call their supporters to align with that agreement.
“It is absolutely indecent and it is not in the spirit of Abuja accord. It is glaring to everybody that it is highly indecent,” Idowu said.
On whether the commission had received any petition from APC, the spokesperson said there was no petition received by the commission on the issue.
The Nigeria Police Force also said it was yet to receive any petition on the matter from the APC.
The spokesman of the Police Force acting Commissioner of Police (CP) Emmanuel Ojukwu said: “I am he was not aware of any petition from any quarters on the issue at stake please.”     
Advert is in bad taste – APCON
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Advertising Practioners Concil of Nigeria (APCON) Mr Lolu Akinwunmi and the council’s Registrar Mr. Garba Kankarofi said yesterday that the advertorial by Fayose on Buhari was in bad taste.
Akinwunmi said: “Every media house has its reason for accepting or rejecting an advert. It could be in terms of content, cost, etc.
 “I know APCON is supposed to vet all political adverts, but I don’t know if this advert was vetted, that is for the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) of APCON to say.
“However, I personally would not allow such advert and would not subscribe to its publication because what the advertiser is trying to achieve, I believe, is mischief. An advert is neither good or bad, it is what the advertiser is trying to achieve that matters. I don’t know the brief that the agency that created the advert got from the client, but to me, it is not in good taste at all.”
On his part Kankarofi said: “We would never have allowed this advert. It is completely in bad taste. The advert was never brought to APCON for vetting. The media houses ought to see APCON’s seal/letter of approval before publishing such adverts.
“We are going to write the newspapers that published this advert and apply sanctions as applicable, because this is completelyunacceptable.”
With additional reports by Ibrahim Kabiru Sule & Ronald Mutum