BUHARI'S RUNNING MATE—APC
Presidential Candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari presenting his running mate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, in Abuja.
All Progressives Congress, APC,
presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, unveiled his running mate,
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as a man of unimpeachable integrity who he said would join
him in restoring hope to the country’s citizenry.
He said Osinbajo was chosen after
a rigorous process that involved the “establishment of objective criteria,
broad consultations with party leaders and a few opinion leaders outside the
party and interactions with a number of nominees.”
A national leader of the party,
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who claimed to have been offered the position,
however, said he declined not just as a sacrifice following insinuations on the
dangers of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, but as his own patriotic contribution to
seeing the end of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in power.
Less than an hour after Buhari
unveiled his running mate at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, the PDP
blasted the APC, saying the delay in making the choice was reflective of
lethargy in the opposition party. The PDP said the choice was reflective of
Buhari’s determination to surrender his powers to Tinubu.
Osinbajo, a Professor of Law,
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, former Commissioner for Justice and
Attorney-General during the Tinubu administration is also a senior pastor at
the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG and a confidant of the church’s
leader, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
Buhari
unveils Osinbajo
Unveiling him at a brief ceremony
in Abuja, Buhari said: “The challenging process of rescuing our country and
changing Nigeria for good has commenced. One of the first decisions that I have
to make is the choice of the Vice-Presidential candidate and my running mate.
“The method employed in this
choice was quite meticulous but yet rigorous. It involved the establishment of
objective criteria, broad consultations with party leaders and a few opinion
leaders outside the party and interactions with a number of nominees.
“To assist me in this great task
of securing Nigeria’s future, I have chosen a man of unimpeachable integrity,
an excellent professional, a man of faith, a devoted family man and a role
model to our fellow countrymen and women. He is a professor of law and a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria. An alumnus of the University of Lagos and the London School
of Economics, he is a prodigious author who has to his credit several books on
civil procedure in Nigerian superior courts.
“The Vice-Presidential candidate
is a friend of the less privileged, compassionate and zealous in service. A man
of uncommon humility, a loyal, dependable and selfless patriot.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who by the grace of God and the vote of Nigerians will
be the next Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Buhari said.
In his acceptance speech as a
running mate, Osinbajo expressed gratitude to Buhari and the APC for finding
him worthy to serve.
He pledged to work with Buhari
and the party if elected into office to restore the hope of Nigerians.
I’m
honoured — Osinbajo
He said: “I am deeply honoured
and grateful to have been nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of our
party, APC, and especially the Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu
Buhari.
“I also thank the leaders and
elders of our great party for the trust reposed in me.
“The task of rebuilding this
nation is one to which I am fully committed. There can be no other President,
Leader and commander that can lead that common sense revolution Nigeria
urgently needs than General Muhammadu Buhari. I will proudly serve this country
with him.
“General Buhari’s uprightness and
fierce commitment to good governance is well known. It will be a privilege to
work with him. I come to this assignment with lots of hope and a resolve to be
a part of this movement to bring Nigeria back to its lost glory. With the
support of all Nigerians and the help of God, we shall make Nigeria work
again.”
Osinbajo’s candidature was agreed
by the party hierarchy in the early hours of yesterday after other possible
names including Asiwaju Tinubu, Brigadier-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola,
Governors Adams Oshiomhole and Rotimi Amaechi of Edo and Rivers states were
respectively ticked off.
Why
I declined the offer — Tinubu
Giving reasons he declined the
offer from Buhari, Tinubu said:
“There came a time during the
course of the events when our Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari
offered the Vice Presidential slot to me. Being a normal human being, I was
deeply moved and honoured that he would consider me for the position. Being a
patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy in all of its dimensions.
“I have concluded that the
interest of the party, our campaign and of the nation are better served if I
retain my position as the National Leader of the APC, allowing me to be a
bridge-builder across all divides. Although, I declined the position, I want to
thank General Buhari for extending the honour to me. Despite all the noise and
opposition around my possible selection, he stood firm and steadfast. He showed
the traits of a leader in holding to a decision he believed was right despite
the errant plots against it.”
Flaying the action of those he
described as political hatchet men who used religion as an issue, he said:
“When my name was raised, the
political hatchet men tried to chop it down with rumour and lies. Over the
years, I have developed a thick skin. The personal attacks did not bother me. I
am used to them. While I have a thick skin, I don’t have a thick mind. There
has been one form of attack that has troubled me. That is the attack based on
religion. The PDP and others have stoked fears of a Muslim- Muslim ticket.”
The APC leader used the
opportunity to task Nigerians to play down on religious differences saying “I
ask you to remember that too many Christians and Muslims are poor. Most of all,
I ask you to remember that the true religion of the PDP is poverty, APC comes
to bring prosperity to the people. Please vote for that.”
Buhari,
Osinbajo’s rescue agenda
Tinubu continued: “This is a time
for cohesion and an overriding sense of mission. We must defeat the foe before
us and resist all temptations intended to entice us to fight among ourselves.
“I sincerely commit myself to the
rescue agenda of General Buhari and Professor Osinbajo.
“Some may call what I have done a
sacrifice. I call it otherwise. It is my patriotic contribution and duty. I do
so with a happy and uplifted heart and clear conscience because I have
committed myself to seeking the best for this nation before seeking what is
good for myself. This is the creed of statesmanship I chose to follow.”
PDP
slams APC
Minutes after the APC leader
unveiled Osinbajo, the PDP flayed the APC for the time it took the party to
come up with a vice-presidential candidate as the height of incompetence.
The party in a statement issued
by its national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh also described the choice of
Osinbajo as an indication of Buhari’s readiness to surrender the national
patrimony to Tinubu.
“By the choice of Osinbajo, a
well known acolyte of Tinubu, who served under him as Attorney-General and
Commissioner for Justice, the APC, General Buhari and Tinubu have boldly
recreated their well-known notoriety for sectional and personal interests.
“It is particularly worrisome
that General Buhari has surrendered his first official responsibility of
choosing a running mate, invariably his powers to Tinubu even before he goes to
the field to ask for votes.
“This is not surprising of
Buhari, who has consistently exhibited a track record of incompetence. This is
the same man who as military head of state surrendered all his powers to his
second in command.
“Our citizens should indeed be
concerned about this: That it took the APC, six days to produce its vice
presidential candidate and that the founder and funder of the party, Tinubu, as
always, had his way. No doubt, this is how Tinubu is going to impose his mercantilist
interest on major decisions affecting the entire country.
“This is the problem with the
APC, a political party built on the narrow interests of very few individuals.
Any political party that subjects its collective will to the whims of an
individual, as it is with the APC, is indeed not ready for leadership.”
Meanwhile, Buhari who
incidentally clocked 72 years, yesterday, said that Nigeria had no business
with poverty and unemployment.
Addressing a mixture of Nigerian
youth groups who felicitated with him on his birthday in Abuja, yesterday, he
said: “Let me tell you a short story: As a young army officer many years ago, I
could afford to save and buy a brand new car from my earnings. Fresh university
graduates got jobs before they left school and opportunities were everywhere.
Today, as a retired army general, former state governor, petroleum minister and
head of state, I can hardly afford that luxury.
“Similarly, if I hadn’t built my
house at the time I built it, I probably would not own a house today; indeed,
if I were to graduate today I would most likely join the ranks of the 40
million Nigerian youths who have no jobs and very little prospects of finding
any, under the current government.
“However, I believe that with
prudent management, Nigeria has the resources to meet the needs of all
citizens.”
Source: Vanguard
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