Finally Buhari reveals: Why I refused debate with Jonathan

 Written by Yusuf Alli and Tony Akowe,

PRESS freedom is guranteed, should Gen. Muhammadu Buhari win the March 28 presidential election.
But there will be no debate with President Goodluck Jonathan, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate said yesterday.
Gen. Buhari said also that change revolution without firing a shot was imminent in the country .
Buhari, who spoke at an interactive session with members of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria( NPAN) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors( NGE) in Abuja, restated his stand against a debate with President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said there was nothing to debate after 16 years of misrule, especially what he described as the six years of bad governance under Jonathan.
He said: “To be fair to me and Mr. President, after16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and six years of his time, is there anything to debate?
“Very seriously, you know the condition we are in; we are all experiencing it, no matter who you are. So, what should I debate there?”
On the general election, Buhari said the shift on February 14 was unnecessary.
He said INEC made it clear that it was prepared for the elections.
He gave insights into what INEC Chairman Prof . Attahiru Jega told the Council of State meeting and how the military differed .
He said Nigerians were waiting to see whether or not the military would have rid Adamawa, Borno and Yobe of Boko Haram insurgency.
He said: “I will give you the latest. When INEC submitted a comprehensive document on February 14th election to the Council of State, a number of us made comments. INEC did a good job and they put it on record because aftersubmitting a document, you cannot withdraw it.
“They submitted a document on what they had been doing since 2011, including training of personnel, acquiring election materials and how they were distributing them; and how they secured them.
“They even said they were ready to conduct the election because they had achieved about 60 per cent distribution of the voter cards. In the previous elections, it had never been better than 45 per cent. But they were prepared.
“Somehow, the military told them they cannot guarantee their security. Then six weeks were given and for Nigerians, those six weeks were within the perimeter allowed for the election. So, INEC said they should be allowed to give the military six weeks.”
Gen. Buhari said Nigerians had been watching the military on how it would secure the remaining local government areas before the polls.
He added: “The reasons given have exposed the inefficiency of the leadership because there were only 14 local government areas in the hands of Boko Haram. These were 10 in Borno, two in Yobe and two in Adamawa.
“If Nigerian militarycannot secure 14 local government areas in six years, how can they do it in six weeks. We are watching. We have only about 10 days to go in the six weeks. Let us see. In spite of the help of our generous neighbors, let us see whether the remaining LGAs can be secured.


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