The Director of Field Operations of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has assured that the supporters and agents of APC would not be involved in criminal activities during the elections on Saturday.
The Director spoke in reaction to the criticisms over the charge of President Muhammadu Buhari that the security should deal ruthlessly with thugs and ballot box snatchers during election.
According to him, APC believes that Nigeria is more important than the party that wins the Saturday’s election.
The former chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) however said that APC was ready for the election.
In an interview with newsmen Wednesday in Abuja, Ribadu said, “We would say we are very much prepared and we have worked hard. Twenty-four hours day and night we have been on this to prepare our supporters, particularly our volunteers and convassers. We have over 300,000 of such people across the Country who have formally declared they are working for us. “We have given them all the necessary information they need to know that will help to sell our candidate very well and we have told them to do it peacefully in a way that we would have free and fair elections. They are ready and are all out there. We have sent a message across that we must conduct ourselves with all decorum, dignity with the APC/ PMB volunteers.
“We have received very strong message from PMB and from everybody that no misbehavior will be tolerated. Our people will behave very well, our people will not be involved in any criminal activities, our people are going to conduct themselves according to the law and we believe that victory will be ours because we have prepared and worked hard.
“I am very happy and excited with our level of preparedness towards the forthcoming exercise on Saturday. We only pray that we would be able to have it from all the players to adopt same attitude of free and fair election and let the winner emerge through a peaceful process.”
He also dismissed the issue of the party sharing money members to use and execute the election.
Asked to speak on how much came to his Directorate, he said, “Nothing at all. This is the side we are so excited about from the very beginning we asked for volunteers on the basis of their preparedness to give their own time, energy and resources because their believe in this candidate and they want to participate and make their own contributions.
“Some of the little things we had to do to support the work are little transportations, very inconsequential, very insignificant support to those who desperately need it but the good part of it is that it looks like these people are not demanding and no one is insisting that I need to be paid for me to do this work.
We have accepted and agreed with what PMB is trying to establish in Nigeria – politics without money – which is based on support from people not the other way round and that is what the future is, that is what politics should be.
On his trust on the Independent National Electoral Commission readiness, he said, “We hope that INEC is better prepared this time, we have witnessed what happened last weekend. We were all prepared and out then suddenly the got disappointed. We hope and pray that it is not going to happen again that they are fully prepared and everything is on ground for the elections in Saturday.
“Also, the other players, the opposition party and those who we are contesting with, they should please understand it is not a do or die affair. It is about Nigerians. Let Nigerians be the winner, if Nigerians are winners then that is what politics is all about and that is what the future will look like. It is not about them or us, let Nigerians be the winners and the only way Nigerians can be the winner is if they play it fairly, honestly, justly, that is what is needed/required.
“My concern is that I hope they are also going to do exactly how we are doing, very well prepared, go to the field, convince the voters and let the vote count. Let Nigerians be winners in this matter.”
