“President Buhari is not in charge. It will be suicidal for him to return to power for another four years. So, we don’t want a situation whereby that will continue anytime after May 29, 2019.We want a government in which the President of Nigeria will be right on top of issues. One that will respect the rule of law."
The Governor of Sokoto State, who was a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Aminu Tambuwal, has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in charge of the country.
Rather, he said the President ran the country by proxy.
He said it would be suicidal to allow the President to preside over Nigeria for another four years.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives spoke in Abuja on Monday when the Peace and Reconciliation Committee of the PDP paid him a visit in his Maitama (Abuja) residence.
Tambuwal said he was not angry about his loss of the party’s presidential ticket in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar.
He promised to work with the national leadership of the PDP towards ensuring that the party emerges victorious in the 2019 presidential election.
He said, “I want to reassure you, our party men and women and Nigerians that I am committed to the success and victory of our party at the general elections, come February 2019.
“We have had a robust and fruitful engagement on the way forward and I have made my commitment immediately after the convention that I am going to support our candidate, Wazirin Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar, 100 per cent for us to have victory at the general elections. So, I am not wavering, I am not looking back.
“Work has started for us to ensure that the PDP family remains united and other lovers of democracy come and partner with us for us to ensure that we convincingly win the election.”
He said the task of wresting power from the ruling party was not his personal ambition, adding that “all of the issues we have discussed, canvassed and traversed for during our meeting with delegates and party leaders, have remained there.”
The governor said, “The maladministration and the way the country is being run through proxies is unacceptable.
“President Buhari is not in charge. It will be suicidal for him to return to power for another four years. So, we don’t want a situation whereby that will continue anytime after May 29, 2019.
“We want a government in which the President of Nigeria will be right on top of issues. One that will respect the rule of law.
“So, I have given my commitment and I mean it, I am out for it. By the grace of God, we shall support Atiku Abubakar and the PDP to win elections throughout Nigeria.”
The governor said that other presidential aspirants would also work for the party and its presidential candidate in 2019.
He said that he was resolute in his decision to give total support to Atiku in pursuit of victory for the PDP in the next elections.
The Chairman of the PDP Committee on Peace and Reconciliation, who is also the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, hailed Tambuwal and other aspirants for their understanding and what he called the spirit of sportsmanship in the last national convention of the party.
He specifically commended Tambuwal for “displaying maturity and a spirit of sportsmanship after the Port Harcourt Convention, which was won by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.”
The governor said that the visit was part of the decision of the PDP to visit and interact with all presidential aspirants of the party in the last election with a view to encouraging them as leaders of the party in their own rights.
Dickson said that the party had commenced a series of consultative talks with aspirants and leaders of the party in a bid to win the presidential election in 2019.
He stressed that the meeting with Tambuwal focused on the need to strengthen the PDP, to provide the requisite support for the candidate of the PDP for electoral victory.
He said, “I am leading a team of the committee of governors to interact and compare notes with our brother, His Excellency, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
“As you all know, he ran a great race and we are all proud of what he did and what he continues to do.
“We appreciate his statesmanship; we appreciate the way and manner he has been of help to the party, consolidating the gains that the party is making.
“This afternoon, as part of our decision to go round, visit, encourage and interact with all our party leaders especially all those who indicated interest in the last presidential elections, we have held a fruitful meeting.
“We are actually starting from here and would be leaving from here to visit our former national caretaker chairman and also hold similar consultative meetings with him.
“This is just the beginning of several interactions formally and informally that we are going to have with him and with several other leaders of our party.
“As you all know, he is a very key player in the unfolding political scenario and we are all committed to reclaiming our country and building a new Nigeria.”
He said that all the leaders of the PDP had a responsibility to close ranks, to hold regular talks as opposition politicians to reposition the PDP for electoral victory.
Dickson said that as the nation moved towards the next election, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security agencies had a responsibility to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in the country.