Buhari: Obasanjo’s Support Will Boost My Campaign

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, has said that the endorsement of his candidacy by former President Olusegun Obasanjo will boost his campaign, hence pushing undecided voters to his side.

Buhari said this while featuring on CNN’s Amanpour programme monitored by THISDAY last night.

The APC presidential candidate stated that Nigerians always respect the opinion of the former president, adding: “It will certainly bring more support to us, and will bring those who are sitting on the fence to us. General Obasanjo is highly respected.
“As far as the Nigerian nation is concerned, there is no issue that is so serious without people seeking for his opinion.”

On the postponement of the general election, Buhari maintained that he was disappointed but he had no choice than to appeal to his supporters to accept the new date having taken into consideration the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had shifted the polls within constitutional provision, which allows elections to be held at least 30 days before the handover date.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission agreed to conduct an election that they have been planning since a year ago. But for them to be forced virtually by the military and they said they could not guarantee the security of their workers, they had to concede to their demand,” he added.

On the fact that he was once a dictator and had no respect for human rights when he was the military head of state vis-à-vis his rival, President Goodluck Jonathan, whom Christian Amanpour described as a failed president, Buhari pointed out that his action then could not be allowed in a democratic context.

He explained that he had to take those actions during his 20 months rule under a military administration where the rules were different.
He maintained that the military had not been able to tame Boko Haram insurgency because it has been undermined by corruption, adding that the APC-led government would be able to tame the massive killings in the North-east because the military has the capacity to do so if it is adequately equipped and trained.
“The money being budgeted in that respect would be properly utilised by my administration,” he said.
The retired general also promised that he would tackle and defeat the insurgents in the North-east if he is elected president in the March 28 presidential election.

On corruption, he said he would tackle the menace by addressing the rot in some key areas of the economy such as the power (electricity) and the oil and gas sectors that had been ridden by several scandals and allegations of missing funds.
Buhari’s interview on CNN came on the heels of the clarification provided by Obasanjo, who told Bloomberg at an event in London yesterday to promote his autobiography, “My Watch”, that he did not “endorse him (Buhari) as such”.
“I didn’t endorse him as such,” said Obasanjo, who in recent months has been receptive to the advances made by APC, which has been seeking his support, but remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“I will determine based on the track record of candidates who are contesting and who ask me for support,” he informed Bloomberg.
Obasanjo also said the growth of Boko Haram and its intensifying campaign of violence were the results of an ineffective federal government's response to the insurgency.

“That can only be as a result of inadequate action, both in terms of stick and carrot,” Obasanjo said.




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