PDP Accuses Buhari Of Perjury, Advises Withdraw From Presidential Race

               The ruling Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria has accused the presidential candidate of the opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari, of lying on oath and asked him to apologise to Nigerians and withdraw from the presidential race.

The spokesman for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fany-Kayode, told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday that it was clear that the claim by retired General Muhammadu Buhari that his credentials were with the army was false.

Mr Fani-Kayode also accused the APC of violating the peace accord recently signed to ensure violence free elections.

He said supporters of the APC attacked the presidential convoy of the PDP in Katsina, the state of the opposition party’s presidential candidate.

The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation had requested that General Buhari should submit his credentials to the electoral body as stipulated in the Nigerian Constitution.

General Buhari, who is contesting for the fourth time in a president race, insisted that his credentials should not be an issue the PDP should focus on.

Speaking to journalists at the Africa House, beside the Kano State Government House in the State capital, the Katsina-born politician named late Gen Shehu Musa Yar’adua and a former President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Umar Abdullahi, as his classmates.

He, however, failed to tender his certificate but noted that the school he attended, the Provincial Secondary School, now known as Government College, Katsina, will make available a copy of the Cambridge West African School Certificate, which would be made available to the press.

General Buhari said he wrote the examination with number 8200002 in the Second Division.

He, however, said: “Although the ruling party may want to wish this away, the issue in this campaign cannot be my certificate which I obtained 53 years ago. The issues are the scandalous level of unemployment of our young people, the state of insecurity, the pervasive official corruption which has impoverished our people and the lack of concern of the government of anything other than the retention of power at all costs”.

After General Buhari’s response, copies of his credentials were made public on Wednesday by the Government College Katsina, formerly Provincial Secondary School, Katsina.

The secondary school certificate examination results showed that General Buhari graduated from the school in 1961.

The APC had insisted that their presidential candidate was qualified and asked the PDP to focus on issues rather than the person of General Buhari.

A spokesman for party, Mr Lai Mohammed had told Channels Television that the credential controversy was a preposterous request that could destroy the image of the military institution.

But Mr Fani-Kayode had insisted that part of the issues the PDP would focus on in efforts to retain power in the centre in the February 14 poll would be General Buhari.

It is less than 26 days to the Presidential election and the political parties have intensified campaigns across the nation, wooing voters.