No Apologies For Endorsing Buhari For Second Term

Some governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have said they have no apology for endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office.

Seven APC governors yesterday met with President Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja. The governors include Abubakar Bello (Niger), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), Yahaya Bello( Kogi), Abdullahi Ganduje( Kano), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Mohammed Jibrilla (Adamawa) and Simon Lalong (Plateau).

Responding to questions on whether the visit is connected to 2019 politics , Governor el-Rufai told State House correspondents that the governors believe the president is leading the country in the right direction and want him to continue.

He said: “We are politicians and those of us you see here want the president to contest the 2019 election. We have no apologies for that. We believe in Mr. President; we want him to continue running the country in the right direction. “People can speculate about 2019; we have no apologies. Whether they are right or wrong is beside the point. Everybody is entitled to his own opinion, but as governors – and most of us here with the exception of Yobe Governor are first time governors – we are interested in continuity and stability and we want the president to continue with that.”

The Kaduna State governor, however, explained that their visit to the president was not pre-planned. 

“Like our leader, the governor of Kano said, we just happen to be here by coincidence and we went to pray and decided to felicitate with the president and we feel satisfied that anytime we see him, he is getting better and better,” el-Rufai said.

When asked the purpose of the high-powered delegation to the villa, Kano State governor, Umar Ganduje said: “That’s a good observation. We are seven in number here but we came separately; not for any purpose but after the Friday prayers, we decided to say hello to Mr. President. It’s just coincidence that we met in the mosque and some joined us later and we decided to go and greet him.” 

On the best way to handle the issue of farmers/herders’ clashes, he said: “The president met with stakeholders from the affected states and I think a suggestion has been put forward by the minister of agriculture concerning the colony and I think, eventually, that is the answer.”