Reactions to the recent political statements made by Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, have gathered momentum with more governors and stakeholders saying President Muhammadu Buhari should dare the odds and seek re-election in 2019.
The minister had in a series of comments made over the past week said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and not President Buhari will have her support should the two men square up against each other in the 2019 election.
Governors from the northern states of the country who are members of the All Progressives Congress and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state said the issue of Buhari having their support for re-election in 2019 was a settled matter.
They Special Adviser to the President on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, also said on Twitter on Saturday that, “We’re working on Buhari’s return to power in 2019.”
The Northern Governors Forum made its position known through the Deputy Chairman of the group, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state.
Ganduje said the support for Buhari was total and unconditional and that in case the President hears their cry and seek re-election in 2019, Nigerians across the six geo-political zones would troop out to re-elect him.
The governor spoke through his Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr. Muhammed Garba.
“The Buhari brand is a unifying factor because Nigerians across ethno-religious divides have come to see him as a man who walks the talk.
“For us in Kano for example, our support for him is 100 per cent. We know him as an honest Nigerian who thinks Nigeria first before anything else.
“His performance over the last two years — especially in the war against corruption, insecurity and terrorism — has been exemplary.
“Should he decide to hear our cry to seek re-election, we will not only support him but also do everything humanly and legally possible to ensure his victory.
“For those who have the privilege of travelling outside Nigeria, it is common knowledge that we are now respected because of the value the Buhari administration has brought to governance,” the governor said.
Amosun, who spoke to journalists on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at a book launch, said the President has the right to a second term.
He said, “The only thing that can prevent President Buhari from contesting is if his health cannot take it.
“If not for this present administration, only God knows where Nigeria would have been. When the government came on board, it was like jumping into the pool at the deep end.”
He scored the Federal Government high in its fight against insurgency, insecurity, corruption as well as efforts geared at economic recovery through serious diversification drive.”
