The former lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye on Friday said he is full of regret for supporting the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. Buhari contested under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) six years ago and defeated ex-President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the first time an opposition would floor a ruling party in Nigeria’s presidential election. Melaye was among those that canvassed support for Buhari’s presidential ambition, having dumped the PDP for the ruling APC. Six years down the line, the former federal lawmaker and PDP chieftain asked God and Nigerians for forgiveness, noting that this current administration is the worst in the nation’s history. “I apologise to God almighty who is the supreme controller of the universe and Nigerians for supporting Buhari,” he said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. “The Buhari agenda is the greatest scam that came out of Africa. The Buhari presidency in 2015 is the greatest scam that came out of Africa. “The subject Buhari is the greatest common that came out of Africa. Once I was blind, now I can see. How can one remain in a political party and support the presidency with what is happening today in Nigeria? I regret seriously supporting that because we were scammed,” he stated. Senator Melaye also bemoaned what he described as corruption inherent in the ruling APC, noting that the current administration would inflate the mount of road contract. Giving an instance, he wondered why the government would budget ₦2.1billion for the rehabilitation of one kilometre of road. The PDP chieftain also spoke about the 2019 general elections where the main opposition fielded ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its candidate. He said based on available statistics the PDP won the election, accusing the APC-led Federal Government of ousting former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen during the electioneering period. When asked if Atiku would join the 2023 presidential race again, the ex-lawmaker said although he is qualified to aspire for the highest office in the land, he (Melaye) is not in a position to speak for the ex-Vice President. “Atiku Abubakar is qualified in all ramifications to run for the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is not for me to ask him to run or not to run. Whether he should or not, my opinion is immaterial. “When we get to the presidential primaries, I will vote for an aspirant I feel is qualified to run for the PDP. That is my personal opinion,” he added. On the security challenges facing the country, the PDP chieftain faulted the APC’s handling of the security issue in the land. He noted that the Nigerian Army that has excelled in international peacekeeping operations have been reduced to a boy scout under the APC’s government. Melaye stated further: “Nigerians are fed up with this NGO called the APC. The insecurity in this country, we have never seen anything like this, I cannot fathom it. “The same Nigerian Army that did well in Sudan, Liberia, that went to Congo Brazzaville, that went to Sierra Leone, that has been going for United Nations’ assignments and flying in brighter colours is the same Army, Air Force, Navy that is behaving like a boy scout today all because of corruption, ineptitude. “There is no governance in government. We have no President, the President is not available. It has never been this terrible.”

Tanzania’s Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as president on Friday, becoming the first female head of state in the east African country after the death from heart disease of president John Magufuli, Africa’s most vocal COVID-19 sceptic. Hassan, 61, was sworn in at State House in the country’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam. She assumes the presidency following Wednesday’s announcement of the death of Magufuli after a more than a two-week absence from public life that drew speculation about his health, reports Reuters. In a statement, the presidency said Hassan would address the nation after being sworn in and would also hold a cabinet meeting. The absence of Magufuli since Feb. 27 had sparked rumours he had contracted the disease, although officials had denied he was ill. Hassan said he had died of heart disease. Described as a soft-spoken consensus-builder, Hassan will also be the country’s first president born in Zanzibar, the archipelago that forms part of the union of the Republic of Tanzania. Her leadership style is seen as a potential contrast from Magufuli, a brash populist who earned the nickname ‘Bulldozer’ for muscling through policies and who drew criticism for his intolerance of dissent, which his government denied. The new president will be faced with the task of healing a country that was polarized during the Magufuli years, analysts said, and building her own political base to govern effectively. Hassan will also be faced with a decision on whether to procure COVID-19 vaccines for the country of 58 million people. Under Magufuli, the government said it would not procure any vaccines until the country’s own experts had reviewed them.