The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has declared that the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, will perform well if elected president.
He made this declaration in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, on Saturday, at the APC presidential campaign rally in the glare of thousands of supporters.
Sunday PUNCH reports that there have been rumours of bad blood between the President and Tinubu stemming from recent statements by the latter, which suggested that there might be sabotage from the Presidency against his (Tinubu) presidential ambition with the recent fuel scarcity and naira redesign.
In Ogun State, for instance, during the APC presidential rally, Tinubu, speaking in Yoruba, was quoted to have said “Hide the petrol, hide the naira, we will still vote, we will win”
He went on to say, “Even if you change the ink on naira notes, what you want will not happen. We will win. That umbrella party will lose. We will take this government from them — saboteurs that are dragging power with us.”
This caused a lot of reactions from politicians and party chieftains, suggesting a crack in the relationship between Buhari and the APC presidential candidate.
Quelling the rumours, Buhari, while speaking at the Nasarawa rally, confirmed that his friendship with Tinubu spanned over 20 years, assuring Nigerians that the APC presidential candidate would be a good president that would make the country better after him.
Buhari also assured members of the party and Tinubu’s supporters that he (Tinubu) would win the February 25 polls.
Code-mixing English and Hausa, Buhari said, “I am happy to be part of the campaign today for Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the next President of Nigeria and Governor (Abdullahi) Sule for his second and final term.
“We will win through and through. I trust Tinubu’s dedication and service. I have known Bola Tinubu for more than 20 years. I will continue to campaign for him. He is a committed Nigerian and I believe he will give everything to make Nigeria better.
“He loves this country. He is a believer in Nigeria and I am sure he will do everything possible to advance the well-being of all of us as citizens. He will hold this country with trust. You should cherish him.
“Those of you who are here, I urge you to go back to your friends and family to tell them to vote for him. We will all vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president.”
In his address at the rally, Tinubu saluted the courage of the President who he said “continues to offer leadership with boldness and courage despite all the challenges,” adding that the country will recover from her challenges.
Speaking further, the APC presidential candidate said those who have concluded that there was a crack had their joy cut short because their friendship was “strong, enduring and about nation-building”.
Meanwhile, the Atiku-Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation has reminded Nigerians that Tinubu set the stage for the national economic setback of the nation and must take responsibility for his actions.
The PDP campaign recalled how Tinubu led a vicious anti-people campaign against the introduction of gradual removal of fuel subsidy which had accompanying palliatives that was cushioning the effects of subsidy on Nigerians.
Recall that both the PDP and the APC presidential campaigns have been trading accusations since the new naira notes policy was introduced in the country.
“If Tinubu was ever concerned about Nigerians, what effort did he make to get the government, where he is the national leader, to address the worsening economy, the abysmal living standard and our national descent as one of the fastest growing economies of the world under the PDP to the poverty capital of the world under his APC?
“It is on record that under this government, which he brought into power and made many appointments into, inflation and unemployment have galloped; millions of Nigerians have lost their jobs and many more can no longer afford their daily meals due to the astronomical cost of living. What were the consoling words of Tinubu to Nigerians?”
