Ahead of next weekend governorship and state assemblies elections, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be in control of more states for President Muhammadu Buhari who just won a fresh mandate to function effectively.
Tribune Online checks revealed that the APC is in control of 20 out of 36 states in the federation.
It recently lost three states to the Peoples Democratic Party following the defection of Abdulfatah Ahmed, Aminu Tambuwal and Dr Samuel Orton, governors of Kwara, Sokoto and Plateau states, respectively who defected to the main opposition party.
Hosting members of the APC campaign group to a reception, Mallam Ribadu who incidentally is the Director of Field Operations Directorate, APC Presidential Campaign Council called on the party footsoldiers to ensure that more states were added to the ruling party fold next Saturday.
He said: “The elections are not over yet. We still have one important election waiting for us. We just got one, presidential and National Assembly.
“We have another one coming, in a matter of ten days now or less, the gubernatorial and state assemblies. It is a very important election for the party. I want to appeal to all of us, let us take it equally very important. We have already done a wonderful job and we are capable of doing that again.
“The work we are doing is a continuation of supporting President Muhammadu Buhari because he would need a party that has the majority of states in Nigeria. He would need more governors so that he can carry on with his work and implement the policies of our party.
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“The governors would also require our own state assembly members. Governance is about teamwork.
” I, therefore, appeal to us, let us go back and continue with this work. It is not yet time to rest until it is over.”
The former presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria dismissed a claim by the PDP that the Presidency abused machinery of State to rig the just-concluded presidential election for President Buhari as he submitted that the APC candidate insulated his office from the process and neither interfered with the functions of INEC nor the security agencies.
“I saw it a very close range, even up to this election. There was never a day or a minute that Buhari sat down and tell us, as his own campaign council, to go and do a bad thing. Never! He refused to allow even the traditional way of politicians taking advantage of what they have. He refused. He refused to talk to law enforcement agencies. He refused to interfere with INEC. He said let us go and meet the people, let’s sell our own product, let’s tell Nigerians what we have, and if they want to buy, let them take it. It is not about money or intimidation, we would give Nigerians free opportunity and chance to decide and they decided. ”
Ribadu further assured members of the campaign organisation that they would be adequately compensated in the next government to be formed after May 29, 2019.
“Ladies and gentlemen let us be very very proud of ourselves. We did something that money cannot buy. We did it honestly and only God can testify to that. We didn’t invite people to even come and look at it, no. The best human being is one that will do a good thing without necessarily waiting for people to take note.
” Honestly, be proud of yourselves, genuinely! And you will see the reward of it; it will come. No good work can go unrewarded, one way or the other, it will come. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow in the morning, but certainly, it is going to come.
“We will continue to be happy for the next four years because we have done something that is going for our country; we have re-elected a good man. Buhari is a good man. He is genuine. He is a fair gentleman. He is honest. He will protect our resources, he will. He will not allow bad people to cheat us and steal from our own commonwealth. He will not! And that is what we want in a leader.
“He will not go and sell Nigeria. He will not sell whatever that we have. He will not sit with anybody to plot evil or do a bad thing. He will not. ”
and then