Three of the leading presidential candidates in the forthcoming April polls - General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC); Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP); and Malam Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)- have opted out of the proposed presidential debate slated for March 29, 2011, by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) .

The decision was apparently a reaction to the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to attend the debate put together by the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG), a coalition of various broadcast organisations and other professional bodies including the media, last week.The trio also described the proposed debate as part of an orchestrated charade.

A statement jointly signed by Buhari's spokesman Yinka Odumakin, Shekarau's spokesman Sule Yau Sule and Mallam Ribadu's, Ibrahim Modibbo reads in part: "We, the spokespersons of the presidential candidates of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) wish to clear the air on the matter of the presidential debate organised by NN24, a Lagos-based television outfit, so that our teeming supporters and Nigerians in general will understand and appreciate our position.

"We had held a series of clear-the-air meetings under the auspices of the organisers at which logistic and other arrangements for the debate were exhaustively discussed. The representative of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Dr. Doyin Okupe, was in attendance and actively participated in all deliberations.

"It was at Dr. Okupe's instance that the two dates earlier proffered by the organisers, March 8 and 15, as contained in the memorandum of understanding signed by the three candidates were rejected because, according to him, those dates were not convenient for his candidate. Dr Okupe, on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan, suggested the March 18 date in which the debate was successfully held. All of us accepted this date not because it was convenient for our principals but as our sacrifice to afford Nigerian voters an opportunity to assess and judge the candidates' programmes as well as personality under the spotlight".

The statement continues: "For emphasis, we had to adjust our respective campaign time tables at great logistic costs to us as our sacrifices for the growth of the culture of debate as an essential ingredient of the open society.

"We, indeed, bent over backwards for the office of the president even when we are fully aware that the occupant is no more than a co-contestant in the context at it were. But the there is a limit to which we can subject ourselves to this sheer impunity of the ruling party which they have flunked on our faces as a people in the last 12 years. The PDP has a record of shunning every presidential debate since 1999.We are highly suspicious of the celebrated romance with the BON debate by the President Jonathan camp which shunned the NN24 debate without an apology.

"We can only hazard that since most of the agencies organising the BON debate are government parastatals, they may not be in a position to resist the request for advance questions being given to the debates in which the NN24 agreed with us because they were independent. This does not mean that the men and women running these agencies lack integrity but the awesome power of the presidency may be too much for them.

"Our principals being men of dignity, with high regard for the people of Nigeria, will not be part of such orchestrated charade of a D'Banj's "kokolete" debate. Like millions of other Nigerians, we consider this behaviour of the president as egotistical, condescending and unbecoming of a man seeking a mandate to govern Nigeria.

"Leadership entails humility and respect for others. A situation where the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation deliberately set out to humiliate other presidential candidates by reneging on an agreement it proposed is unacceptable to us and the millions of our supporters. Consequently, we state without ambiguity that our principals will not honour any debate session with President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 elections as he has arrogantly shunned the credible debate for which we made ourselves available. Future presidents of Nigeria will have to be more careful in dealing with the feelings of others."

In another development, the Nigeria Elections Debate Group had, earlier yesterday, expressed confidence that eight presidential candidates and their running mates have indicated interest in the debate slated to take place on March 28, 29, and 30 respectively.

The chairman of the NEDG, Aremu Taiwo Allimi, told journalists at a press conference that the presidential candidates of the PDP, ACN, ANPP, CPC, MPPP, SDPM, NTP and UNPD who have accepted to be at the debate would get equal treatment.

Meanwhile, ahead of the April 9 presidential poll, the Malam Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) and the Igbo Political Forum (IPF) have urged their followers not to cast their votes for any of the presidential candidates who do not subscribe to the principle of zoning and rotation of power, especially the presidency.

In a communiqué the groups jointly issued yesterday, signed by Alhaji Magaji Dambatta and Dr. Udenta O. Udenta, the chairman and secretary of the communiqué committee respectively, they also condemned what they called the culture of impunity and high level of intolerance that has characterised the campaigns thus far.

The communiqué reads in part: "We reaffirmed our commitment to the principle and practice of zoning and rotation of key political offices in Nigeria, which we consider necessary and sacrosanct for the unity, peace and stability of Nigeria. We have therefore resolved to support any candidate who shares our commitment to these principles and who is committed to practising it."

"Such a candidate must, as a precondition, exhibit other qualities that a conducive to good governance - honesty, integrity, competence, sound policy direction and requisite experience. It is our conviction that the tension, violence, desperation for power, and the culture of impunity and intolerance that have thus far characterized the electioneering campaigns are directly related to the culture of dishonesty that has crept into our political life, as well as consequences of the attempt by certain political elite to jettison enduring principles for national political consensus building and political inclusiveness. Those who come to equity, it is said, must come with clean hands.

"We re-affirmed our position on term limits for key political offices, particularly the office of the President, to the extent that any occupier of the office in 2011 will not seek re-election in 2015, at which time the position will be rotated to another zone.

"We also re-affirmed the imperative of national integration, not only at the level of political inclusiveness in every sphere of our plural society in the decision making process, but also the evolution of a well designed and carefully thought out Development Blueprint and Strategy that will have at its core the empowerment of Nigerians, creation of jobs and the provision of quality public services.

"In consideration of the above, and in conformity with the basic principles already outlined, we urge our supporters and sympathizers across the country to be properly guided in their choice of candidates in the forthcoming general elections and to reject any candidate who does not possess these qualities or subscribe to these basic principles, does not honour them and will not realize them if or when he comes into office."