A presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), who recently declared interest to contest the 2015 election, to be ready for face him in a free and fair presidential primary.
While welcoming the decision by Buhari to join the contest for the opposition party’s ticket for the 2015 general election, Atiku said he looks forward to meeting him in “an open, free and fair contest for the ticket.”
Atiku in a press statement personally signed by him, said the task of rescuing Nigeria is a duty the leaders of the APC are committed to and that “the more individuals are ready to be part of the mission to rescue the country, the better.”
According to the vice-president, “I believe that the next president of our country, who by the grace of God will be produced by our great party, must be someone who is a unifier, bridge-builder and not someone who bears ethno-religious bias. Above all, he must embody a vision of a Nigeria for all.
“I have no doubt in my mind that we both share a common concern about rescuing our country from the deadly grip of the PDP and it is on this note that I do warmly welcome him on board in this very important national rescue mission. I look forward to meeting him in an open, free and fair contest for the ticket.”
He further said: “Nigeria has floundered for far too long. Our people are yearning for a change and we must listen to them before they lose faith in the ability of their leaders to revive the country.
“You will recall that during my declaration speech penultimate week, I did mention that my priority, if given the chance to run and serve as the President of Nigeria is addressing the issues of jobs creation and providing decent employment for Nigerians, especially the youths.
“I believe that it is only when we can provide decent jobs for our young people, that we can have a hope for the decent future for our country.
“It is also not in doubt that of recent, successive administrations have failed woefully in building the infrastructure that can promote a healthy economy: our education system is in shambles, public health system is in virtual comatose, we have very poor network of roads totally at variance with the wealth of a country that is the seventh oil producer in the world.”
Meanwhile, the Katsina State chapter of the APC has said it will purchase the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms for presidential election in 2015 for Buhari.
The state party Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Inuwa, disclosed this yesterday in Katsina during a press briefing.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Inuwa said the decision was reached at the State Executive Council meeting after a resolution to support Buhari for the presidential poll.
Inuwa said the party adjudged Buhari a trustworthy person.
He said Buhari possessed all leadership qualities to contest for the presidential election and bring positive changes in the country, if elected.
“APC is the answer to Nigeria’s problems with Buhari as president in 2015,’’ he said.
He urged INEC to prepare and conduct free, fair and credible elections for the development of democracy and the country.
Inuwa also urged people vying for positions to shun politics of bitterness and political violence.
He said acts of thuggery negated provisions of the party constitution and electoral laws of the country.
Buhari had while declaring his ambition before a gathering of youth support groups in Abuja last Tuesday, pledged to abide by the outcome of the party’s selection process, adding that he and his supporters would back whoever emerges the candidate of the party in the 2015 presidential election.
