AAC blamed the “clueless President Muhammadu Buhari regime” for further widening the divisions among Nigerians, through very dangerous social and economic inequalities.
The African Action Congress (AAC) has called on supporters of all presidential candidates to desist from making statements capable of heating up the polity or causing ethnic or regional hatred among Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The party said the political space in the country had never been so polarised, considering the current situation in the country.
The party made the call on Saturday in a statement by the AAC National Publicity Secretary, Femi Adeyeye, while reacting to the alleged derogatory and inflammatory statements being used by some political supporters against their opponents.
AAC blamed the “clueless President Muhammadu Buhari regime” for further widening the divisions among Nigerians, through very dangerous social and economic inequalities.
The statement read in part, "The African Action Congress, (AAC) seizes this medium to address some of the issues heating up our polity as it has observed ahead of the forthcoming 2023 elections; the presidential contest in particular, has been reduced to a regional strife that reeks of religious bigotry and ethnic jingoism.
“It is a matter of fact that the Nigerian space has never been this polarised since it was established. No thanks to the nepotistic, clueless Buhari regime that has further widened the division among Nigerians, through very dangerous social and economic inequalities. Should we as people in the space then continue to widen the trench through divisive rhetoric of violent threats to one another, all in the name of “campaign”?
“Our presidential campaign slogan, “WeCanNotContinueLikeThis” speaks to not continuing on the path of ethno-religious divisions that have kept us all on a retrogressive plane. We are clear that getting out of this quagmire would not be through the path that brought us here in the first place. There must be a full 360 degree turn-around, which definitely includes the respect for all humans irrespective of age, social status, religion or tribe.
“This is why as a pan-African party, we urge our young people not to fall for the antics of the ruling elites; these people you support even with those violent threats you issue to one another have always been friends and will continue to protect their own class interests.
"Our party is the only party today that has put your interests first, through our people-oriented manifesto and we continue to mobilise with it without issuing threats to anyone; adherent or non-adherents.
“Never with the intention to gag anyone or group as we are firm believers in the freedom of speech and “after speech” have we done this. However, divisive statements in the media such as “We shall know who owns Lagos on October 1st Lekki Rally. Pack your things and go to Anambra”, “No member of the APC must be seen campaigning in the South-East too”, “This election is between the major tribes. If my tribes man does not win, we will force him to rule my region and we go our separate ways” are very caustic and should be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians."