2019 presidency: Tambuwal has my blessings ― Babangida

Former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has said that Sokoto governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has his blessings in his aspiration for the 2019 presidential election.

Babangida said this when he hosted Tambuwal and his team at his Hilltop residence in Minna on Saturday.

He said Tambuwal is a grounded politician who understands the challenges of the country and has the potentials to fix them.

The former leader lauded Tambuwal for promoting peace, rule of law and unity during his reign as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“I am very proud that you belong to the generation that wants to keep Nigeria as one. You have a good team to keep that.

I have no doubt that Nigerians will give you the opportunity to put these good ideas for the good of the country.

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You know the country, you understand the challenges of the country. I trust you will work base on your conviction for this country.

You have my blessings and I will keep monitoring to ensure you don’t deviate,” Babangida said.

Tambuwal said he was in Minna as part of his nationwide consultation to seek the blessings of the former leader.

He said IBB and others fought to keep Nigeria as one but that it is unfortunate that the country is now divided along ethnic and religious lines. He promised to serve as a bridge and a unifier when elected as the president.

“Mr President Sir, we are here also to drink from your fountain of knowledge and experience and to consult you on this all-important mission of not only securing the flag of our party the PDP in the 2019 Presidential election but also eventually by the grace of God getting elected as the president of this great country.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives vowed that he will assemble the best brains to turn around the economy of the country and restore the confidence of Nigerians in the government.

He also pledged to ensure devolution of powers to states, so that among other things, funds are available to states to carry out meaningful projects.

“I believe in the devolution of power to the state. We will ensure states get more fundings for them to be able to carry out meaningful projects in their domain,” he said.