*Obi expresses worry over missing LP’s logo on ballot papers
*Kwankwaso decries BVAS failure, absence of party’s name on ballot
Dike Onwuamaeze and Sunday Ehigiator
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, yesterday declared that he was waiting to be declared the winner of the presidential election to start reworking the country in line with his vision.
In a series of post-election interviews with all leading candidates, Tinubu’s counterpart in the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, expressed worry that the logo of his party was missing from some ballot papers used in the elections in several parts of the country.
This is coming as the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has decried the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used at his polling unit immediately after he had voted and the absence of his party’s name on the ballot paper.
Tinubu, who made this known yesterday in his first-ever exclusive interview with ARISE News Channel, restated his confidence that he would win the election.
He declared he is better than any other presidential candidate vying for the number one political office in capacity, ability, and track record.
He said: “I am saying categorically that I am better than others. I am exposed. I am from a private sector background. I have demonstrated that capacity, ability and vision in Lagos State. I believe I am better than any other candidate in this election. I am confident I will win.”
The APC presidential candidate, a two-term governor of Lagos State, said that his unique vision on how to salvage the country could be glimpsed from the impressions he left behind in Lagos State and his ability to earn the collaboration of players in the private sector to deliver public good.
He said: “I mean that my vision is different. You could see Lagos State. You could see the infrastructural improvement. You could see the taming of the Atlantic Ocean. Go there now and see.
“If we do not bring and convince the private sector of the need to collaborate and work together to promote the country’s interest, we cannot make progress. That is my way. I have articulated my agenda. I have set the priorities.”
Tinubu, who had been hailed as the national leader of the APC for nearly nine years, surprisingly debunked that perception, insisting that only a victory at the presidential election could make him the party leader.
He said: “I am a member of the APC. I’m not the APC. I am striving to become the leader of the APC. If I become the leader of the APC through this election, you don’t know what I will do – whether I will change the APC’s philosophy. I am not ready to tell you that. I’m waiting for the result of the election. It is then that I can rework the country.”
On the other hand, the APC presidential candidate acknowledged that President Muhammadu Buhari is a sincere and committed leader who is confronted by nearly intractable economic challenges.
He maintained that these challenges required a strong footing in economics to be effectively tackled and that Nigeria needed a working partnership between the public and private sectors to recover as a thriving economy.
“The challenge we faced in 2019 was different. We have a dedicated and sincerely committed leader in Buhari. But he is not an economist. He has to face a very, very challenging situation. He has to face population growth and graduate unemployment – too many of them that we must be creative enough to accommodate to get the economy going.
“But, I say the partnership between the private sector and the public sector has to be harmonised and encouraged to actualise the dreams of Nigerians. That is important to me,” Tinubu said
Obi Expresses Worry over Missing Labour Party’s Logo on Ballot Papers
Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Obi, has expressed worry that the logo of his party was missing in some ballot papers that were used in the conduct of the elections in several parts of the country.
Obi expressed this view yesterday in an exclusive interview with the ARISE NEWS Channel.
He said: “Well, we expected the ballot paper to show the logo clearly, but the Labour Party’s sign is not there. And someone has told me that the logo is completely missing in some states. But I am worried. I do not know why it should be so.
“I think now we should have been going the way other nations in Africa are doing, like Ghana, where they do not only have the names of the contestants, they have the candidates’ pictures and their parties’ logo boldly on the ballot.
“Out of the number of people contesting in the election, only 18 of us. They should have had our pictures, but I am not complaining. It is a process.”
In a related development, the candidate of the NNPP, Kwankwaso, has lamented the failure of the BVAS used at his polling unit immediately after he had voted and the absence of his party’s name on the ballot paper.
He made this complaint yesterday during a live interview with ARISE NEWS Channel at his Kano home immediately after casting his vote.
He also complained about the late arrival of the INEC officials and the impact of the failed BVAS on the voters.
He said, “I am one of the few very likable politicians. I contested an election in my ward 30 years ago to be a member of the House of Representatives, and the turnout was like this, and it keeps increasing.
“You see, many prophets and leaders are not very popular in their homes, but by the grace of God, I am, not only in this ward but in Kano. And no matter what happens, I always win here. And with how we operate, the people still support us.
“It is the same case in the local government, central, and Kano; we are extremely strong because when you see our figures not as big as the central, it is because that is where the criminals are going to rig elections. We are so happy that they are supporting us.
“My only worry in this election was that the election here started after 11 am, and it was rightly pointed out that we have thousands of people there.
“And not only that, immediately I finished voting, the machine went bad, and now they are struggling to repair it. Only God knows when it will be repaired.
“And even if it is repaired, because of the time it takes for one person to vote from my personal experience, it will take a lot of time to conclude voting here.
“I hope INEC staff will be patient enough to ensure everybody votes in that place. And maybe this is not an isolated case. Maybe it is a similar thing elsewhere.
“Another problem we had was that NNPP was not written on the ballot paper. It was only the logo. And the logo was not looking good; you could not understand anything. That is why in some places, especially in Kano, when they vote, they ask them to ask for the Kwankwaso party or NNPP party logo.
“PDP was written boldly, APC too, but our party name was not written,” he explained.
