•Says only result APC expects on Saturday is victory
•Buni sues for peaceful election
Michael Olugbode in Damaturu and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has said there would not be a proxy presidency if the presidential candidate of his party, Bola Tinubu, is elected in Saturday’s presidential election. Adamu stated this yesterday during a media interaction in Abuja.
The APC national chairman said the ruling party was prepared to go into the election, stressing that the only result it expects is victory.
At the same time, Yobe State Governor and former caretaker chairman of APC, Mai Mala Buni, advised the people of the state to conduct themselves peacefully before, during and after the elections.
Speaking yesterday at the parley, Adamu, who commended the media for their professionalism in covering the party’s campaign and articulating the issues, however, cautioned against misinformation and fake news propagated on social media.
He stated, “Let me, however, caution against some of the disinformation, misinformation, lies and fake news propagated on the social media. In reporting the election and results, we must be careful to be truthful and honest.
“We must remember that after this election, there will be a country to govern. While social media reportage has a place in information dissemination, it must be used responsibly for social harmony, inclusiveness and peace.”
Adamu maintained that Tinubu was not the kind of person that would surrender his authority to anyone, emphasising, “I can tell you there is going to be nothing like proxy presidency. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, once elected, will live up to the expectations of that office to its fullest. This I assure you.
“Between Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Biden, United States president, who is older? So if Biden can rule America with all the complications in America, I believe he has the capacity and I believe that if by God he is elected, like I hope, he is up to the task. He would assert himself to the rigours of the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“He is not the kind of person, who would surrender his authority to anybody. So, you can rest assured that we are going to have a very able president.”
Adamu said he was not aware Tinubu had any challenges of health, and that from 1999 till date, he had not seen him exhibiting traits of ill-health.
Adamu, who claimed there was nothing like Villa cabal, as some people had alluded, said, “Well, I don’t belong to the mafia world and it takes a mafia man to identify another mafia. I am not one. I am not aware that there is a cabal.
“I have heard and read about it in the papers but the presidency has denied it. I don’t work in the presidency, but I trust the presidency and I believe very strongly that there is no such thing as cabal in the presidency.
“When people try to do a thing and they cannot get their way through or get what they want, then, they start associating or attributing that to some imaginary force or interest group stronger than their own.”
On naira redesign, Adamu said the APC leadership was not consulted, and pointed out that while he was not opposed to the policy, the implementation had become challenging, hurting the people and the economy. He said even though some governors of the party challenged the policy by taking the federal government to court, no APC governor was working against the party.
The APC national chairman said, “Quite a number of these governors got carried away by the pressure from the citizenry. And there is nothing wrong in a leader identifying himself with his people. We were not consulted as such on what the design was going to be like. How much of the design we want to take from the current currency regime in the country.”
Addressing the situation in South-east, the APC chairman said he hoped and looked forward to elections taking place in the region
He said, “I want to emphasise that election is a civic responsibility. It is not compulsory. You can go and vote or decide not to vote and then results would be declared based on the few who voted. There is a limit to what we can do. There is a limit to what we can take or tolerate. There have been so many challenges.
“There have been killings and arson in that part of the country, that some people are even challenging the sovereignty of this country. And just as much as there are people who want to divide this country, there are more of us working for the country. So, in the end, with God we will see who is stronger.
“My appeal is that they should try to see reason. They should give peace a chance. If they allow elections to take place, by God, APC will win the Southaset region. There is nothing wrong in their agitation – self-determination. It is allowed but when it involves lives of people, killings, maiming, destruction of property, we don’t have the stomach for it. It is my hope that they will be apprehended and the law will take its cause.”
On his part, Buni said, “Yobe State has a tradition of peaceful elections, this should be sustained to promote peace in the state.”
According to him, there is no election that is worth the blood of any citizen, while democracy and good governance can only thrive when there is peace and peaceful coexistence.
The governor said political differences must never cause hate and chaos among the people of the state, noting, “We remain brothers and sisters, in spite of our political differences. These differences should not be used to divide us, we should, therefore, play the game peacefully according to rules.
“I also call on our religious leaders and everyone to pray for a peaceful and successful election in our state and Nigeria, generally.”
Meanwhile, the Tinubu/Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (TGICC) said the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that was meant to de-market Tinubu had created a love affair between him and Nigerians.
Director of Media of TGICC, Hilliard Eta, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during a media interaction.
Eta said, “When the CBN brought out the naira redesign policy, it was named naira redesign but from implementation, we have seen that the term was wrong. It should have been naira confiscation, because Nigerians cannot access their own money.
“This was why Asíwájú reacted instinctively. He did the same against military dictatorship and also reacted instinctively when (Olusegun) Obasanjo decided to withhold the allocation to Lagos LGAs.
“A policy that was designed to de-market him has become a policy that is creating a love affair between Asíwájú and the grassroots, because they have now come to the realisation that the only presidential candidate who is in their corner is Asíwájú.”
Earlier, National Coordinator of TGICC, Silas Agara, said the mandate of the group was to ensure the electoral victory of Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima.
