Anule Emmanuel, Baba Negedu and Johnchuks Onuanyim



Junaid: He only asked for one tenure in 2015

Yakasai: Those asking president to re-contest are sycophants


The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el- Rufai, have rose in defence of President Muhammadu Buhari, declaring that the president never promised to serve one term in office. The governing party and el-Rufai told New Telegraph that at no time did Buhari promise any group or individual that he will serve a single term of four years.

But, Second Republic member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Junaid Muhammed, stated that Buhari only asked for one term of office when he was contesting the 2015 presidential election. This is as elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, described those urging the president to contest in 2019 as sycophants.

El-Rufai, in an interview with New Telegraph, described as untrue the claim by the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Aisha Alhassan, that President Buhari had, before his emergence as candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 election, promised to step aside after serving his first term in office, which ends in 2019. Alhassan, who recently said that she would throw her weight behind former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for the Presidency in 2019, stressed that even if Buhari decides to re-contest, she will not support him.

The minister has been under intense pressure to resign from Buhari’s cabinet after an explosive interview with BBC Hausa Service in which she also described Atiku as her godfather. Alhassan had, in the interview, disclosed that President Buhari had promised to run only one term.

According to the Kaduna State governor, there is no iota of truth in the comments by the Women Affairs Minister whom, he said, in the first place has never been on the side of President Buhari. “It is absolute falsehood.

There was never any time this issue was discussed in our group or GMB (as he then was) even talking about any single term. As a man of deep faith, he believes everything about him is in the hands of God and the preference of the people of Nigeria. “I speak on what I know, heard or experienced in my interactions with PMB and our party leaders.

“I have expressed in previous interviews of my preference, hope and prayer that PMB contests for a second term of office in the interest of the stability of our party and our nation’s progress,” el-Rufai told New Telegraph in an electronic mail.

The governor said Nigerians would decide the fate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 based on its past record of “destruction and corruption.” His words: “As for PDP thinking it can win the next general elections, let us simply wait till then and wait for the decision of the Nigerian people.

The people of Nigeria are sovereign and will decide that question based on PDP’s past record of destruction and corruption versus APC’s efforts of reconstruction and fighting graft.” Also, the APC National Vice Chairman (South- South), Prince Hilliard Eta, said there was nothing stopping President Buhari from seeking a second term in office. According to him, at no point did the party enter any agreement with the president to govern for one term.

Eta, who has been a national officer of the party since 2014, stated that there was no agreement entered by the president and the party to do one term. The party official said he would canvass the sack or resignation of the minister at the NWC of the party.

His words: “I expect the minister to resign and if she would not resign, I would canvass she be sacked. “There was no time we (APC) entered any agreement with President Buhari to do only one term. “If anybody has such a pact, let him or her present it or state where it was entered.”

However, Junaid told New Telegraph that Buhari has told several people that he would only serve one term in office. The Kano-born politician posited that even if Mr. President contests in 2019, he is not sure of winning and any attempt to rig the polls will be resisted in the North and all over the country. Junaid said: “I’m not a member of any political party registered in Nigeria as of now. But to the extent that the Minister of Women Affairs spoke her mind, whether as a minister or not, I challenge those who want to challenge the minister to tell us where she went wrong.

“As a matter of fact, President Buhari has told many people in the party and even those outside the party that he was going to do only one term. So, there is no reason for someone mentioning to him the reason not to run.

“However, whether President Buhari said so in the past, or is saying it now or will say it in the future, his performance does not guarantee him an automatic ticket and even if he has an automatic ticket from his party, it is not a guarantee that he would win the next election.

“And if he tries to rig the elections, there would be serious protest and violence even in the North and all over the country and the minister has alluded to that. He told people that he was only going to do one term, but if he has changed his mind, he should come out and say so.”

On Atiku’s presidential ambition, the former lawmaker said: “Also, some people do not like the idea of her mentioning who she was going to support in 2019. I have never supported Atiku in politics and I will never support him, because I don’t believe he has the moral standing to be a leader.

I don’t believe he has integrity. But it is a choice between those who support Atiku, those who intends to support him and those who don’t. “If the North does not get the presidency, they should blame President Buhari because of his performance. He has not performed and he is not performing and may likely not perform. The North is the least developed in the country.

If anybody can bring justice to the North, he would be elected in 2019. So, if the president wants to be returned by the North and other Nigerians, he should perform.” On his part, former Special Adviser to President Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has described those prodding President Buhari to contest in 2019 as sycophants.

“Neither Buhari nor Atiku has declared that they are going to contest in 2019. In any case, even if they declare, there is nothing in the constitution that prevents anybody or a minister from declaring for another candidate.

Her views are personal and for her and she is entitled to it. “Those calling on President Buhari to contest are sycophants looking for one thing or the other. Somebody has not said he wants to contest and you are urging him on; let him make up his mind first.

This is pure sycophancy to be prodding people to contest. It is only when someone said he wants to contest that you can decide whether to support him or not, even Atiku has not decided, but Aisha Alhassan said he is her mentor and there is nothing wrong with that.”

El-Rufai had told State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after joining Buhari for the Juma’at prayers on Friday that he and other governors elected on the platform of APC were working hard to ensure that the president is re-elected for another four-year term in 2019.

The governor said APC stalwarts, including serving ministers, were already operating under a group known as ‘Buharists’ to galvanise support for the president. He stressed that the final decision to re-contest, however, remains solely that of President Buhari.

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