Gen Muhammadu Buhari
The Presidency, Thursday declared that if former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari emerges as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2015 election, it would be a walkover for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The party was reacting to a recent statement attributed to the APC, which stated that it is suicidal for any party to make Goodluck Jonathan its presidential candidate in the 2015 election.
The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak also spoke on other APC leaders, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i.
According to him, “As far as that merger is concerned, the calculation of the Congress for Progressive Change elements is that Buhari will stand for the election. If he stands for the election, it is a walkover for the PDP; so, we are praying that they field Buhari.”
Gulak who claimed that had been informed by a good authority that Tinubu has no presidential ambition added that El-Rufa’i is not a politician; thus, he’s not qualified to contest the presidential election.
Hear him, “Tinubu is not interested in the presidential race. I have it on good authority that Tinubu is not interested.
“El-Rufa’i is not a politician. When we are talking about politicians who are likely candidates, we don’t talk about people like El-Rufa’i. We are talking about political politicians.
“But in all, the President has yet to declare his intention whether he will re-contest or not. When the time comes in 2014, we will know whether he will offer himself for a second term or not. As of now, we are here to work for Nigerians.”
Gulak said that the APC should burry the idea of ruling the nation, stressing that it was too young to talk about presidency.
He said, “The APC that was just born yesterday should not have the mouth to talk.
“They should mind their own business and face the struggle ahead of them. They should stop focusing on what PDP will do or will not do, that is none of their business.”
The presidential aide asserted that president Goodluck Jonathan would not lose sleep over the registration of the party by INEC.
In a quick reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the now rested Congress for Progressive Change, CPC Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, described Gulak’s statement as a “hallmark” of a dying regime.
He said that Buhari remains a better leader ahead of Jonathan. His words, “Putting Buhari and President Jonathan side by side is like putting light and darkness together. Buhari is head and shoulder above Goodluck Jonathan, who is occupying the nation’s highest seat.
“It is Nigerians who will determine who will win the 2015 election, but we know that in a free and fair election, Jonathan does not stand a chance against Buhari. Let him say whatever he wants. “The PDP primaries could be manipulated for the President. We have said it that the PDP will be in the opposition as from 2015.” Fashakin further stated that Buhari has no hands in the post election violence in the north.
He stated, “It should be clear to all now that the people planning the insurgency are within Goodluck Jonathan’s regime.
“It makes no absolute sense that the insurgency is Islamic when people were bombed in Kano during Ramadan. It is totally incongruous. That is to show you that it is not Islamic in any way. It is about vicious politics, which this regime is playing.”
Fashakin ruled out the possibility of Jonathan’s reelection come 2015.
He said, “We know the truth. Nigerians know the truth; that the kind of leadership that President Jonathan and the PDP have shown us in the last three years has been nothing to write home about.
“It shows that in terms of leadership at the highest level, Gen. Buhari is head and shoulder above anybody they can present in the PDP,” the party chieftain added.
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