The All Progressives Congress members of the National Assembly from the North-West on Monday disagreed with the stance of the Arewa Youth Forum that President Muhammadu Buhari should not seek re-election in 2019 on account of the unresolved killings by herdsmen in the country.
Some senators and members of the House of Representatives from the geopolitical zone gathered in Kaduna on Sunday to declare support for the President’s second term ambition.
They met under the aegis of “North-West Young Parliamentarians in Support of Buhari/Osinbajo 2019.”
But, barely 24 hours later on Monday, the Arewa Youth Forum criticised the lawmakers, saying Buhari should forget his 2019 ambition due to the inability of his administration to stop the killings by the herdsmen.
The lawmakers from the Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara states, at the inauguration of local coordinators for the ‘North-West Young Parliamentarians in support of Buhari/Osinbanjo 2019,’ had said that the President had done so well in the areas of security, infrastructure development and deserved to return and complete the good job he had started.
But the AYF, speaking through its National President, Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, claimed that Buhari’s reaction to the killings so far was to blame politicians or make other excuses instead of tackling the matter head-on.
The group, therefore, argued that Buhari did not deserve re-election.
Gujungu stated, “Nigerians should hold President Buhari responsible for the killings because he made it clear in one of his speeches that it was ‘desperate politicians that are responsible for the herdsmen killings.’
“Being the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the buck stops on his table. It is important, therefore, for him to fish out the desperate politicians as a matter of urgency.
“Therefore, to allow the President to come in 2019 will spell doom, not only for the North but for the entire country. This is not 2015 when we said North versus South. This is not the APC or PDP affairs.
“We have enough presidential aspirants in the North that are capable and not Buhari again. Buhari should just honourably leave the stage in 2019 so that the North can regain its lost glory.”
However, in Abuja, the lawmakers dismissed the AYF on Monday, saying that only people with a tendency for “mischief” and “corruption” would oppose Buhari’s second term bid.
The Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Mr Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, who spoke for the lawmakers, told The PUNCH that only those opposing the President allegedly for “selfish reasons,” failed to appreciate his achievements in the last three years.
Ado-Doguwa added, “We cannot stop anyone being used to parade themselves as anti-Buhari. But, all we are saying is that we, as serving parliamentarians from the home zone of the President and on behalf of the people we are representing, have unanimously endorsed Mr President’s acceptance to run for a second term in 2019 by Allah’s grace.
“We don’t mind the criticisms of the opposition; we will not be deterred by the mischief of corrupt Nigerians, who do not wish Nigeria to be out of corruption.”
He claimed that most of those opposing Buhari did not have any political relevance to influence the outcome of the 2019 poll and should be ignored.”
Ado-Doguwa added, “We will not be distracted by the blackmail of self-centred politicians, most of whom have no electoral value and do not have identifiable constituencies.
“We will remain focused and resolute to actualise our target for the good of our great country Nigeria.
“I must also confess to you that all well-meaning Nigerians are sincerely impressed by the achievements of this government, especially in the area of security, fight against corruption and enhancement of the socio-economic well-being of our people.
“I, therefore, put it crystal clear without fear of being quoted, that President Buhari remains the only option for a greater Nigeria.”
Besides Ado-Doguwa, other lawmakers who met in Kaduna to declare support for Buhari were Senator Abu Ibrahim (Katsina State); Senator Jibril Barau (Kano State); Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi State); and Mr Garba Datti-Mohammed (Kaduna State).
The list included Mr Saidu Yusuf (Jigawa State); Mr Hussaini Sulieman (Sokoto State); and Ahmed Baba-Kaita (Katsina State).
The Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Mr Aminu Shagali, and his counterpart from Katsina State, Mr Aliyu Sabiu, were also in attendance.
Source: Punch
