Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has indicated his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in the cause of salvaging Nigeria. The development came just as United States-based think tank, Brookings, has stated that President Goodluck Jonathan may win the February 14 poll. Apparently endorsing Buharis candidature, Babangida declared that he knows what Buhari wants just as the APC candidate knows what he (Babangida) desires. The former Nigeria leader spoke yesterday in his hilltop residence Minna while receiving the APC presidential candidate who was at Minna Polo Field as part of his campaign tour of the country. Babangida stated that contrary to the notion created by the media that they were enemies, they were actually in good terms, adding that both of them fought to keep the Nigeria united when they were mates in the Nigeria Army. He said, Media men have created this impression that we are fighting each other, but look at us here today; he (Buhari) knows what I mean and I know what he means. We both fought to keep Nigeria one when we were young majors. He commended the APC for allowing Buhari to emerge as its presidential flag bearer, saying: All of us will support you in this cause to salvage this country. While commending the General Buhari for his perseverance and persistence to offer himself for the service at the highest level, he stated: You have beaten some of us in proving Gen Douglas Mc Arthurs theory of old soldiers never die but fade away gradually. According to him, genuine leadership can only emerge when the mandate is secured through free and fair electoral process. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to go out and vote as well as ensure that their votes count. Buhari had earlier stated that he was in Minna to canvass for votes and that though the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said he would not leave PDP, he was aware of the support of IBB and Obasanjo for his presidential bid. Buhari said the fight against insecurity in the country will be total starting by equipping the armed forces, police and other security agencies as well as ensuring that whatever is due to the soldiers in terms of welfare would be given to them. At the rally the deputy chairman of APC, North, Lawal Shuaibu, who represented the chairman, John Oyegun, received the defectors from the PDP, led by the incumbent deputy governor, Hon Ahmed Musa Ibeto. While speaking, APC chieftain Asiwaju Bola Tinubu said: President Jonathan in one African countries in 2011 promised to spend only four years. He went further to say that if he cant fix Nigeria in four years, he will not be able to succeed in 20 years, so why must we allow a man who failed to honour a promise he made four years ago? He said Jonathan administration has been a total failure in the last six years and urged Nigerians to vote the PDP government out of office during the February elections, adding that APC was set to salvage the country. The director-general of Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organisation and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi took a swipe at the PDP government and described the Jonathan administration as fraudulent. He urged Nigerians not to be carried away by the N10 cut in petrol pump price announced on Sunday, saying the new price regime was not only long overdue but falls short of the global difference in oil price. Niger deputy defects to APC Meanwhile Niger State deputy governor, Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, led 319 other PDP chieftains to declare their defection to the APC. Speaking to journalists before the rally, he said he was leaving the ruling party because of the injustice within it. Ibeto said that Injustice was perpetrated in the last governorship primaries against him, and when he complained to the national leadership, he was denied justice, and since he could not stay with such injustice, he decided to move to the APC. February 14 Poll: Odds favour Jonathan US Group Meanwhile, a US-based think-tank, Brookings, has projected victory for President Goodluck Jonathan over General Muhammadu Buhari in the February 14 poll, though the contest will be very tough. The world influential think-tanks analysis, context and rationale projections are contained in the Brookings publication entitled: Foresight Africa Top Priorities for the continent (January 2015). Though the election is expected to be very competitive, the odds still favor President Jonathan, the report said, describing the APC as a fragile anti-Jonathan establishment with a sole purpose to return power to the north. The APC gets much of its strength from tapping into anti-Jonathan sentiments in the Muslim north and grievances among the Yoruba who feel that the Jonathan administration has ignored them in key political appointments, it said. The report also indicated that the APCs strategy is hinged on a combination of popular votes from the North West, North East and the battleground South West but also hinted at the possibility of Bola Ahmed Tinubu not delivering the region contrary to speculations. What remains to be seen, however, is whether Bola Tinubua former governor of Lagos State who played a pivotal role in the formation of the APC and is considered to be the partys strongest mobilizer in the South West will be very enthusiastic in delivering the battleground southwest to the APC during the elections. On President Jonathans performance, it noted: Despite Boko Haram, the country is thriving: The economy continues to grow andwith the rebasing of its GDPbecame the largest economy in Africa and the 26th largest in the world. Jonathans supporters also point to his success in containing the Ebola virus, which earned him commendations from countries and institutions around the world. The Brookings report also identified factors such as incumbency and numerical control of states where PDP has 21 states and APC only 14 as giving PDP an edge. The greatest strength of the ruling PDP is its power of incumbency, and all the institutional support that goes with it. Not only does it have federal resources to use as patronage, it also controls key institutions. The report advised that all efforts should be deployed to ensure a free, fair and transparent elections and to avoid a meltdown as post-election violence seems very likely. Post-election violence is therefore likely in the north if the APC loses while renewed militancy in the restive Niger Delta is likely if Jonathan does, it said.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 04:58:30 +0000
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