THE Presidency on Saturday requested the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) to address allegations that it hired a United
Kingdom-based data company, Cambridge Analytica, to harvest
President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data in the run-up to the
2015 election.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President Media and
Publicity, said in a statement in Abuja that such unfair practice
undermined the country’s democracy.
According to him, “the Cambridge Analytica hacking scandal
committed against candidate Buhari by the PDP in 2015 in which
billions of Naira was paid out to the Israelis and others hackers
have shown that the former ruling party lacks both the integrity
and credibility to talk about election rigging.
“Instead of explaining their role in the scandal, the nation is
greeted by stunning silence. Do they think this will simply blow
away?
“Rigging is PDP’s main area of core competence and its party
leaders are drowning men who won’t mind clutching at any straw for
political survival.”
He also advised the leadership of the PDP to stop raising false
alarms in order to gain public sympathy and divert attention from
its “abysmal past record and failures.”
According to the presidential aide, “they should, instead,
address the concerns raised about their role in the mass data
harvesting at the heart of the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica
scandal, following the revelation that they hacked into Candidate
Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data in the run-up to the 2015 general
elections.
“Nothing undermines a country’s democracy as such unfair
practices.
“That is why President Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment when
they hacked into the opposition, Democratic Party records, and this
is why a Special Counsel is investigating the alleged Russian
interference in the US presidential election, and if President
Donald Trump’s campaign is complicit in the attempted subversion of
democracy in that country.”
Shehu also lambasted the leading opposition party for its
decision to drag the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the United
Nations “over alleged plan or plot to rig the 2019 general
elections are not only laughable and puerile, but they also
demonstrate the level of desperation that is haunting the
opposition leaders.”
He said President Buhari was passionately committed to free and
fair elections in the country, noting: “and for a man who joined
forces with local and international observers to ensure a free and
fair election which brought him to power in 2015, the President
would under no circumstances tolerate any attempt to derail
constitutional democracy.
“The outcome of the gubernatorial elections in Edo, Ondo and
Anambra States stand as clear examples of President Buhari’s
commitment to free and fair elections in the country, and Nigerians
should indeed be wary of PDP’s desperate propaganda.
“For the PDP to be preaching free and fair elections is like a
street-walker preaching about chastity.
“We must recall that the PDP postponed the 2015 general
elections in the guise of national security challenges because
defeat was staring it starkly in the face. However, despite the
delay tactics, it was resoundingly defeated when the polls finally
held.
“The PDP has lost every moral ground and it is mortally afraid
of facing the 2019 general elections because Nigerians will always
remember their past and punish them one more time for economically
plundering the country.”
According to Shehu, “by dragging the United Nations into its
political propaganda, the PDP is indirectly suggesting that it is
afraid to face the voters in 2019.
“Rather than hiding behind allegations of a plot to rig the
elections, the opposition party should work harder to win back the
trust of voters instead of spreading the false alarm to gain
international sympathy.
“It is unfortunate that the PDP is desperately trying all dirty
tricks, including the exploitation of tragedy, for political
advantage.”
THE Presidency on Saturday requested the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) to address allegations that it hired a United
Kingdom-based data company, Cambridge Analytica, to harvest
President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data in the run-up to the
2015 election.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President Media and
Publicity, said in a statement in Abuja that such unfair practice
undermined the country’s democracy.
According to him, “the Cambridge Analytica hacking scandal
committed against candidate Buhari by the PDP in 2015 in which
billions of Naira was paid out to the Israelis and others hackers
have shown that the former ruling party lacks both the integrity
and credibility to talk about election rigging.
“Instead of explaining their role in the scandal, the nation is
greeted by stunning silence. Do they think this will simply blow
away?
“Rigging is PDP’s main area of core competence and its party
leaders are drowning men who won’t mind clutching at any straw for
political survival.”
He also advised the leadership of the PDP to stop raising false
alarms in order to gain public sympathy and divert attention from
its “abysmal past record and failures.”
According to the presidential aide, “they should, instead,
address the concerns raised about their role in the mass data
harvesting at the heart of the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica
scandal, following the revelation that they hacked into Candidate
Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data in the run-up to the 2015 general
elections.
“Nothing undermines a country’s democracy as such unfair
practices.
“That is why President Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment when
they hacked into the opposition, Democratic Party records, and this
is why a Special Counsel is investigating the alleged Russian
interference in the US presidential election, and if President
Donald Trump’s campaign is complicit in the attempted subversion of
democracy in that country.”
Shehu also lambasted the leading opposition party for its
decision to drag the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the United
Nations “over alleged plan or plot to rig the 2019 general
elections are not only laughable and puerile, but they also
demonstrate the level of desperation that is haunting the
opposition leaders.”
He said President Buhari was passionately committed to free and
fair elections in the country, noting: “and for a man who joined
forces with local and international observers to ensure a free and
fair election which brought him to power in 2015, the President
would under no circumstances tolerate any attempt to derail
constitutional democracy.
“The outcome of the gubernatorial elections in Edo, Ondo and
Anambra States stand as clear examples of President Buhari’s
commitment to free and fair elections in the country, and Nigerians
should indeed be wary of PDP’s desperate propaganda.
“For the PDP to be preaching free and fair elections is like a
street-walker preaching about chastity.
“We must recall that the PDP postponed the 2015 general
elections in the guise of national security challenges because
defeat was staring it starkly in the face. However, despite the
delay tactics, it was resoundingly defeated when the polls finally
held.
“The PDP has lost every moral ground and it is mortally afraid
of facing the 2019 general elections because Nigerians will always
remember their past and punish them one more time for economically
plundering the country.”
According to Shehu, “by dragging the United Nations into its
political propaganda, the PDP is indirectly suggesting that it is
afraid to face the voters in 2019.
“Rather than hiding behind allegations of a plot to rig the
elections, the opposition party should work harder to win back the
trust of voters instead of spreading the false alarm to gain
international sympathy.
“It is unfortunate that the PDP is desperately trying all dirty
tricks, including the exploitation of tragedy, for political
advantage.”
Read more https://nairalaw.com/speak-up-on-cambridge-analytica-hacking-presidency-tells-pdp/