Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, expressed confidence that he would win the Saturday election.
The former military head of state made a claim on March 25, Wednesday, while delivering his speech at the 7th Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos.
He was quoted as saying by Leadership:
“We have been trying since 2005 and this time, a look at the PDP government at the centre shows us that our merger would be worthwhile to save the country. Now we have the APC and the fear of the APC is the beginning of wisdom in Nigeria.”
The politician praised Bola Tinubu, APC national leader, for creating successful opposition movement in the country, when Nigerians never believed such a merger of the opposition parties was possible.
“I have great respect for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; he does not consider himself; he is a selfless person who made a lot of sacrifice and commitment to ensure the merger was successful.
The Nation adds that Buhari stated his point categorically when he took the podium by saying:
“I’m confident of victory.”
He noted that although the process was awash with money, he was going into Saturday’s election with hope, “because if I could win the primaries without spending money, I will certainly win on Saturday”.
Tinubu, on his part, stressed the historical importance of March 28 voting for the history of Nigeria.
“We
“We must decide if compassion should speak more than corruption. This is the time to believe in something more profound and in a government that is coming and that government is APC. Let us all have faith. I’m filled with expectations of a more just society.”
He criticized President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running for a second term, over promoting corruption.
“We make bold to say that no President has ever encouraged bribery and corruption as President Goodluck Jonathan has done by ferreting public funds into the pockets of a few in the desperation to woo voters.
“What this President has done by wooing voters with money amounts to undermining democracy, an action that is unbecoming of a democratically-elected leader of any country.
“According to the information in the public domain, an immense amount of money, some as high as 250,000 dollars per head, was given to traditional rulers, youths, entertainers, market women, ethnic militias and artisans.
“If the money being recklessly given away is from the public treasury, the implication is that they want to loot the treasury to such a level that if they lose the elections, the next government will have no money to spend.
“If the presidency and PDP say the bribe money is not from the public treasury, then where is it from? If the money being nonchalantly frittered away is the President’s personal money, where did he get that kind of money from?
“To make matters worse, the bribe money has transformed, in the Jonathan Administration’s skewed meaning of that word, from Naira to the US dollar, a clear indication that the Administration has lost confidence in the national currency and has nothing but disdain for it.
“People are wondering why the Naira, which was exchanging at 160 to the Dollar when the Jonathan Administration assumed office, is now exchanging at an all-time high of 226. Well, apart from the falling price of crude oil in the international market, the reason for the huge depreciation in the value of the national currency is the unprecedented abuse to which it has been subjected by the Jonathan Administration, which apparently is engaging in a frenzied mop-up of the Dollar for bribery purposes.”
As for latest updates on elections, it is worth noting that there had been tension among APC supporters that Buhari might be deprived of the opportunity to contest over legal issues. However, Abuja High Court yesterday adjourned the case on a challenge disputing his eligibility to the 22nd and 23rd of April, 2015.
