Presidency has described the victories of the All Progressive Congress in the recent bye-elections in Katsina and Bauchi where the party clinched the contested Senatorial seats and the House of Representatives seat in Kogi as a proof of Nigerians confidence in the Buhari’s administration.
This is just as the Presidency has described bribery for votes and vote buying by politicians as “ a serious offence” under Nigeria electoral laws
It therefore, appealed to citizens who have evidence of such infractions to report to the appropriate quarters, adding that they will be protected by the laws
“ the fabulous show by the APC coming against the back ground of the recent election in Ekiti, shows that the President will win the 2019 Presidential election.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu stated this on Monday, while briefing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“ Each of these we consider to be epic and we will like to say thank you to Nigerians, leaders of the APC who worked to ensure that the elections were won.
Shehu said, “First is to say that these decisive victories are indications that clearly showed Nigerians have spoken that President Buhari maintains his momentum. That these victories place Buhari/Osinbajo presidency in very good stead for next year’s election.
“It is a statement of the fact that the APC will go into election next year with every confidence that the elections will be won and that Nigerians by this statement, will also say that they no longer have time for politics of insult and diversion, mudslinging and ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop’ politics of the PDP, and equally important is that these election victories are a clear message to the National Assembly that all that Nigerians are interested in is that the business of government should go on.
Shehu while reacting to rejection of the results of the election by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the party “was behaving like a militant group instead of following the democratic tenets in its activities on national issues”
He noted that the result was indicative of President Muhammadu Buhari’s acceptance by Nigerians and what will be expected in the 2019 elections
Shehu who briefed alongside his colleague in the office of the Acting President, Laolu Akande described the bye-elections as “ epic in nature”
“One is to say that bribery of voters or vote buying is an offence in this country, I think that citizens who have evidence regarding this, have a duty to report to the law enforcement agencies, this is the way to help the country.
“Secondly I think that it is not the right attitude for a political party, a so called opposition leader to conduct their affairs like a militant organization, a political party cannot be run like a militant organization, if you have disagreement on the outcome of an election, they know the process and they know it because they abused it before, you can see this is the clear difference of the kind of democracy the APC administration is trying to put in place from what they are used to.
“(Governor) Willie Obiano of Anambra, same afternoon he won election, president Buhari said congratulations and weldone, we were happy we came second in the elections, that is the way it is.
For Shehu, the epic performance of the APC is also a signal that Nigerians are not interested in current drama by members of the National Assembly, and therefore appealed to them to key behind the President in his efforts to institute good governance.
“That Nigerians are saying that they are not interested in the drama; they are not interested in the grammar, the subterfuge and all of the games that are being played in the National Assembly.
“I think it is appropriate this time to appeal to the National Assembly to be on the same page with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration so that we can deliver on all of these things.
“There are urgent matters that need to be attended to including matters of shortfall in money supply for the execution of the budget.”
“We lost a Senate seat in Osun, we didn’t try to bring down the roof, and this that has happened in Cross River (bye election for state assembly), did you hear Adams Oshiomhole saying he wants to shoot people, I think this is the difference we need.”
It is clear that from election after election, Nigerians are reposing confidence in the Buhari/Osinbajo presidency. Each of these election victories is considered to be epic in nature because none of these elections was an ordinary election.
“We are happy that we have won and on behalf of the president and the acting president, we like to say thank you to Nigerians who continue to repose their confidence in the leadership of the APC administration.
“We also want to thank the leadership of the party at the national level, but equally important, to thank all the party’s apparatchiks deployed to all the campaigns and ensured that all the elections were won handsomely by APC.
“So, we are expressing our gratitude to everyone for these that had happened and to say that with this increasing confidence reposed in the president and the acting president, who are determined more than ever before to leave no stone unturned in order to bring the promised change to Nigerians.”
He said that there were conclusions to be drawn from the victories that the APC recorded in the elections.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
