I stand with Buhari on death for ballot box snatching – Tinubu

Robert Awokuse

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has thrown his weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari on his statement which called for ruthless action by the military against any individual who is caught snatching ballot box during the elections.

Tinubu indicated his support of Buhari’s statement while addressing party faithful at a stakeholders meeting at the party secretariat in Lagos.

Recall that President Buhari had on Monday at a meeting with party leaders in Abuja, directed military personnel that would be deployed on the election day to shoot any person caught with or attempting to snatch ballot boxes.

The order by the President has since generated criticisms, especially by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, describing the statement as an invitation to extra judicial killings.

Tinubu, who in all forms condemned ballot box snatching, said stern measures must be taken to discourage such act.

“I stand with President Muhammadu Buhari on his statement on ballot box snatching,” Tinubu said.

“Ballot box snatching is similar to robbery, and even worse, hence must be condemned in all its entirety by everybody. We must not allow it. Anybody caught snatching ballot boxes must ruthlessly be dealt with.”

The APC National Leaders further warned party supporters, especially the youths, against being involved in ballot box snatching, adding that anybody who is linked with such or caught doing so  would face the music.

Reacting to the elections postponement, Tinubu said the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should be pardoned for throwing the nation into confusion provoked by the late announcement , stressing that nobody is above error.

While knocking the electoral umpire for the late resolve to postpone the polls, a resolution that damped the zeal of many, Tinubu, however, urged the people to forgive INEC and come out en masse to vote the candidates of the party at all levels.

He said the party was at war with the PDP, expressing optimism that the APC would be victorious in the elections.

The APC National Leader stressed that the PDP had already been “defeated and buried”, a statement he expressed literally in local parlance, “Ati sin oku iyawon”.

However, he further enjoined the people to  accommodate any defecting PDP members and other parties, who wished to join the “winning ruling APC”, which according to him is taking the country to the next level.