The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has replied Lai Mohammed over his claim that the video of him begging Nigerians to forgive President Buhari was doctored by the party, Igbere TV reports.
Igbere TV had reported that Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information, was seen in a viral video pleading for President Muhammadu Buhari to be pardoned over his WAEC results.
“Nigerians should please, pardon President Buhari over his (WAEC) certificate, he doesn’t know where he kept it, it’s been over 53 years now since he finished secondary education”, Mohammed had said.
But reacting after he came under attack, the Minister, in a statement obtained by Igbere TV, said the video was “doctored” by the PDP, to make it appear like he was begging Nigerians to forgive President Buhari.
Reacting to the development, however, the PDP in a statement obtained by Igbere TV on Monday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to vacate office as the President of Nigeria.
The statement signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Buhari should save the judiciary and the nation further troubles by resigning his position.
He said the call for Buhari’s resignation became necessary following the official admission that he does not possess a WAEC certificate, contrary to his claims and disposition before the law.
He berated the Presidency for believing that in “publishing” the video, it could influence the Tribunal to “bend the law after solid evidence have been presented before it against President Buhari”.
Ologbondiyan stated that the pronouncement and appeal for pardon issued by the minister, who is also a lawyer, is a direct guilt plea that “cannot save Buhari from the course of justice in this matter.”
According to him, if Buhari indeed sought for pardon from Nigerians, he should do the needful by toeing the path of honour and vacating the presidential seat without further delay.
Full Statement,
“Our party mocks the Buhari Presidency for pushing out the video wherein the Minister pleaded with Nigerians to pardon President Buhari over his false WAEC certificate claims.
“PDP notes the deliberate ploy of Mohammed to appeal to sentiments, seeing that Mr. President had failed to defend himself before the Presidential petition tribunal.
“From the official pronouncement by the Minister on a national television, it is no longer in dispute before all Nigerians that President Buhari does not possess the educational certificate he claimed in the affidavit he deposed to in his presidential nomination form.
“In this latest shenanigan, President Buhari and his handlers ought to have known that the law, which the judiciary is bound to uphold, is a respecter of no man.
“The PDP reminds President Buhari of how his Presidency vehemently applied the law in similar circumstance to remove a head of an arm of government; a situation, which renders his plea for pardon a complete nullity before the law.”
“It is disheartening that President Buhari and his All Progressives Congress would put our nation through the troubles of legal hassles when they knew all the while that they were building something on nothing.
“The PDP therefore urges the Judiciary to consider the evidence before it and rescue our nation by expediting its verdict to point to nothing other than the justice of the matter in the presidential election petition.”
