A front page advertisement by Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose which insinuated that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Gen Muhammadu Buhari might die in office has sparked outrage across Nigeria.
The advertisement, published by three national dailies, suggested Buhari might die in the manner three former leaders from the north had died if elected into office. They were late President Umaru Musa Yarádua, Gen Sani Abacha and Gen Murtala Mohammed (military Heads of State).
Yarádua died in Abuja in April 2010, Gen Abacha also died in Abuja in August 1998 and Gen Murtala was assassinated in Lagos in February 1976.
The advert read: “Nigerians be warned.” It then went ahead to quote a verse not the Bible: I have set before thee LIFE & DEATH. Therefore choose life that both thee and thy seed may LIVE. Deut 30 vs 19.
In the advert, the pictures of the deceased leaders were arrange in a row with a question mark hanging boldly across Buhari’s face.
‘Will you allow history to repeat itself?’ the advert asked, adding ENOUGH OF STATE BURIALS.
It concluded by asking Nigerians to “vote wisely, Vote Goodluck Jonathan. Northern Presidency should wait till 2019.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said the advertisement by Fayose on Buhari was “highly indecent.”
Spokesperson to INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu told Daily Trust yesterday that although the commission was yet to issue official position on such advertisement, the INEC chairman views it as a clear violation of the pact signed for a violence-free electioneering.
“The commission is yet to make an official statement on that, but it is obvious to everybody that the political players have signed an agreement to run their campaigns on issue-based and it is expected they call their supporters to align with that agreement.
“It is absolutely indecent and it is not in the spirit of Abuja accord. It is glaring to everybody that it is highly indecent,” Idowu said.
On whether the commission had received any petition from APC, the spokesperson said there was no petition received by the commission on the issue.
The Nigeria Police Force also said it was yet to receive any petition on the matter from the APC.
The spokesman of the Police Force acting Commissioner of Police (CP) Emmanuel Ojukwu said: “I am he was not aware of any petition from any quarters on the issue at stake please.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Advertising Practioners Concil of Nigeria (APCON) Mr Lolu Akinwunmi and the council’s Registrar Mr. Garba Kankarofi said yesterday that the advertorial by Fayose on Buhari was in bad taste.
Akinwunmi said: “Every media house has its reason for accepting or rejecting an advert. It could be in terms of content, cost, etc.
“I know APCON is supposed to vet all political adverts, but I don’t know if this advert was vetted, that is for the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) of APCON to say.
“However, I personally would not allow such advert and would not subscribe to its publication because what the advertiser is trying to achieve, I believe, is mischief. An advert is neither good or bad, it is what the advertiser is trying to achieve that matters. I don’t know the brief that the agency that created the advert got from the client, but to me, it is not in good taste at all.”
On his part Kankarofi said: “We would never have allowed this advert. It is completely in bad taste. The advert was never brought to APCON for vetting. The media houses ought to see APCON’s seal/letter of approval before publishing such adverts.
“We are going to write the newspapers that published this advert and apply sanctions as applicable, because this is completelyunacceptable.”
