Reps’ leadership tackles Jonathan, agents over election campaign

The leadership of the House of Representatives on resumption from its two months’ recess, Tuesday, expressed concern over the alleged desperation of the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and their supporters staging campaigns across the federation in violation of the Electoral Act.

Similarly, Femi Gbajabiamila, minority leader, has threatened to sue President Goodluck Jonathan and his agents including Transformation Ambassador of Nigeria (TAN) and major television stations for staging and televising election campaigns.

Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the House of Representatives, gave the charge while reeling out the legislative agenda for the fourth legislative session of the seventh Assembly.

Tambuwal, who called for caution, warned against desperation being exhibited by various pressure groups, saying, “The election year 2015 is still unborn as far as the prescriptions of the Electoral Act and INEC regulations and guidelines are concerned, but for some, desperation has already taken over.

“As we conduct ourselves with due regard to the serious security challenge of insurgency and terrorism with blood-letting on the rise and the general volatile political atmosphere, the people should be our prime focus because without the people there will be no country and therefore nothing to represent or to govern.”

In a chat with BusinessDay, Gbajabiamila, leader of the APC caucus in the House, noted that the PDP supporters have over the past few months embarked on solidarity campaign to the disadvantage of other political parties in the country.

He said, “On the issue of breaching of the electoral law by the presidency and its agents, it’s a big problem, it’s not that people are guessing. The electoral law is very clear, you cannot begin to campaign until 90 days before a general election.

“They’ve been doing these things for not today not yesterday, not last week, it’s been going on for months now. It’s the impunity that we’ve always been talking about that people don’t listen, now it’s come home to roost.”