Vice Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Senator Kashim Shettima has told Nigerians that the choice before them as they head for the next general election is between light and darkness, describing the presidential candidate of the Labour Party LP, Mr Peter Obi as a good man who has nothing to offer but dubious statistics.
Shettima spoke on Thursday at a One Day symposium organized by APC Professionals Forum tagged, “Dissecting the Asiwaju Manifesto, Renewed Hope 2023: Action Plan for a Better Nigeria”.
At the event, the First Lady, Aisha Buhari also spoke glowingly of her husband’s outgoing administration, stating that the next APC administration is expected to continue from where President Muhammadu Buhari stops.
Represented by the Director General, National Centre for Women Development NCWD, Dr Asabe Vilita Bashir, the president’s wife noted that national security will remain the hottest topic for debate in the 2023 presidential election and that the expectations of Nigerians are even higher now.
She said; “The current administration was able to reclaim territories hitherto occupied by the insurgents in the north east and thereby paved the way for locals to return to their communities to rebuild their lives. The security agencies especially the military were more remunerated, equipped and empowered with modern military hardware to decimate the terrorist who have now gone underground. This has raised the morale of the security agencies. The administration has put in place a lot of social development programs to tackle poverty and reduce the number of those being targeted for recruitment by insurgents and bandits. Government’s massive investment in infrastructure was aimed at boosting socio-economic well-being of the nation and further reduce poverty, which is a major cause of insecurity. Also regional security has been more enhanced with our neighbors to properly tackle insecurity.
“The incoming administration would be expected to continue from the gains of the current administration. It is expected that the national security plans of the incoming administration must continue to train and equip our security agencies to do more to secure the country and prevent crime; new ways of financing critical infrastructure like power, rail, road network etc must be explored to stimulate economic development; more social development programs must be pursued to reduce poverty; and fresh ideas on combating emerging security challenges of kidnapping, oil theft, armed secessionist groups, communal clashes and flood must be proffered.
“I have gone through the manifesto of our Presidential candidate and have no doubt in my mind that given his experience in governance and passion to make positive impact in our national development, we would be in safe hands”.
N’West indebtedness
Also, the Director, Contact and Mobilization for the North-west zone in the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji, has said his region would determine the next President of Nigeria, adding that the zone is indebted to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Jaji said having supported President Muhammadu Buhari in the last seven and half years as President, the North-west must mobilize support and deliver victory for Tinubu/Shettima ticket in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election.
Speaking Thursday in Abuja, during the inauguration of the Contact and Mobilization Committee for the North-west, Jaji, who heads the committee assured that Tinubu will succeed the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Jaji, the North-west has one of the most populated states in the country (Kano) which is currently under the APC and looking at the 2015 and 2019 elections results, APC will definitely coast to victory in 2023.
Hon. Jaji said: “The best thing that we can do in 2023 is to pay back to Tinubu who has supported our son (President Muhammadu Buhari) to be President twice. It is time to pay back what the others zone did to our our son, a father and a role model, that is President Muhammadu Buhari. How the people from South-west stood their ground, supported him throughout, unconditionally.
“So, it is time to give some support to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu unconditionally, but with conditions that he is going to make Northern Nigeria, most especially great.”
While urging the committee members to work assiduously to achieve victory at all levels for the APC candidates, the former chairman, House Committee on Intelligence and internal security said the North-west committee has a task taking Tinubu’s manifestos to the grassroots.
“I am extremely concerned that the task before this important committee considering the fact that the North-west constitutes the majority of the electorates in Nigeria and is a determining factor for whoever is going to be the next president of this country.
“But the other challenges that we all need to address is that in 2015, we had a presidential candidate who happened to be a platform, the same as 2019, he’s a platform. But now we have a candidate who is a flag bearer and the only thing we can do to address the difference between the two is the work of this important committee that will disseminate and sensitize the people of North-west who have been in power for good seven and a half years and now it is time to pay back.”
Also speaking, the assistant secretary of the committee, Dr. Talatu Nasir, said despite the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso coming from the region, it will not affect the fortunes of Asiwaju Tinubu.
Dr. Nasir said: “This Committee has already drawn the modalities of going from one house to the other, from one polling unit to the other in order to see that we deliver our candidate.
“In the North-west, we will make a bold statement when the time comes, that Bola Tinubu is our candidate”
Obi has nothing to offer
Speaking at an earlier forum, Shettima spoke of how 30 years ago, witch doctors were the only people occupying the shores of the Eko Atlantic until Tinubu became governor and reclaimed the area.
He said; “Thirty years ago, you would see Babalawo (witch doctors) sacrificing black cows on along the shores of the Atlantic bar beach. Because of the quality of somebody’s ideas here we have the Eco Atlantic city that will give accommodation facility to 250,000 Nigerians. I spent a night in that edifice and it was amazing.
“When I first got a job in Lagos in 1999, I have to beg my mother for two weeks before he allowed to go. By then, the fear of Lagos for an average northerner was the beginning of wisdom. Before he allowed me to go they had to assemble a crowd of Marabouts to pray for my safety. That was how bad things were and I want you to compare the situation of things in Lagos 30 years ago and what is now. Now Lagos is safest state in West Africa. This is why leadership is very crucial for growth”.
Referring to Obi (whose baptismal name is Gregory) as ‘Gringori’, a comic character in the now-rested television series, ‘New Masquerade’, Shettima said; “What are the options available? Our political space is filled with a lot of very careful snails… We have to provoke conversation without descending so low to engage in malicious concoction or dubious aspersions on personalities. So what are the options available?
“Peter Gringori Obi is my friend but Gringori has absolutely nothing to offer apart from dubious statistics. So the choice before us, there is a difference between daylight and darkness.
“Half of the agricultural equipment in Nigeria are in Borno. An an agricultural economist by training and invested in the entire agricultural value chain. In the height of the Boko Haram I was able to assemble some of the brightest minds in this country. Audu Ogbe was my honorary special adviser on agriculture (etc)”.
Some of the dignitaries at the event were Chairman, Board of Trustees BoT of the APC Professionals Forum and former Governor of Bauchi state, Malam Isa Yuguda; former Ogun state governor, Gbenga Daniels; former deputy governors of Lagos and Anambra states, Mr Femi Pedro and Dr Nkem Okeke respectively; National Coordinator of APC Professionals Forum, Mr Akeem Akintayo; the Turaki of Ilorin, Malam Saliu Mustapha, presidential aides and a host of others.
