The Adamawa state Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC),Alhaji Saidu Naira said Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should forget about 2019 presidential bid and therefore should not expect any support from them,as their unflinching loyalty is in support of President Muhammadu Buhari to context for the second term.
According to Saidu the entire party and Adamawa people threw its weight behind the President whom he said has done so much for the people in the state, asking former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to forget his ambition and support the President.
He said the people of Adamawa state remain grateful to the President for restoring peace back to Mubi,Maiha,Madagali,Michika,Hong and Gombi that was ravaged by the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.
He said: “2019 is very interesting to our state because we have only one President in this country and that is Muhammadu Buhari and no other person will have our vote in 2019 apart from Buhari. Even if he says he will not contest, we will make him to contest because we cannot forget easily what he did for us regarding the insecurity that ravaged our area.
“During the last dispensation, we had the Chief of Defence Staff, the Principal Private Secretary to the President and many others, but they didn’t care. If you had visited Mubi during the period of insecurity, you will cry. The insurgents were coming and going from Mubi like their home, do whatever they like without being challenged.
“Our people had to run away, leaving everything behind. But now, Mubi is back to live. So, we cannot leave Buhari now and face another person. The leadership of the party under Ibrahim Bilal is behind President Muhammadu Buhari completely and we don’t have other person in mind.”
While saying former Vice President Atiku can contest the election if he so wish, he said “Yes, he is from my state. He was former Vice President and so should thank God for that.
“He should stand aside and wait for this man to finish his term for every Nigerian to see. This government is not even up to two years yet and so, we should not start talking about who should be the next President. We should pray for them to finish this four years first. But in our mind, we have only Buhari.
“He was Vice President and what did he do? He should done much for his people when he was Vice President. It is another person’s time. We are not saying he cannot contest, but we are not voting anybody apart from Buhari because we know what we saw.
“When Boko Haram came, it is Dangote who used to bring rice and share among the people and yet we have all the big people who did not bother to support the people. Instead of wasting lines, he should take that money and rebuild houses for people. Let us forget about personal interest because if God says you will be, you will definitely be.
“At this moment, we believe that the Presidency is in Adamawa because the First Lady is from Adamawa, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is also from Adamawa, we also have the FCT Minister and many other appointees of government. At least, in whatever we are doing, the people of Adamawa has course to thank God for what He has done for us.”
Alhaji Saidu Naira expressed the believe that the state Governor, Umar Jibrilla Bindow was standing with President Buhari, saying “there is no day that the Governor has ever called me to say let us work for Atiku. It is always about Buhari. It is because we have peace in the state that he can work. So, he has to give his loyalty to the President and not another person.”
On the return of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to the party, he said “Ribadu is one of the pillars of APC in Nigeria. I was the person that begged him to come back to the party because belong to them. Nobody in the state has said that Nuhu cannot come back because the party does not belong to anybody. Whoever want to come to the party is free to come to the party is free to come.”
He said Ribadu has been fully integrated into the party in the state saying “whatever we are doing, we always inform him. The SGF is interested in him. Our plans was for him to contest the Presidency, but when they removed Murtala Nyako, he discovered that he has no stand and that was why he left for PDP. “
This is an APC affairs, we in the PDP have our Presidential hopeful and therefore would make his identity known at the right time.
ALH. Naira should have known that the law gives any Nigerian who is qualified to vie for any position in the land, and H.E ATIKU ABUBAKAR equally has the constitutional right to aspire for the office of the presidency. If you are greased by your paymasters then understand that the people of Adamawa state have the right to chose who they want when the appropriate time comes. Tell your masters that you misfired so they can grease your palm the more and all will not succeed in giving you the public sympathy you are craving for using the names of the people of Adamawa state and the state APC to commit your false propaganda..