Wild jubilation erupts in Kano
President Muhammadu Buhari has finally declared his intention to contest the 2019 presidential election after leaving Nigerians guessing as to whether or not he would run for second term.
Buhari made the declaration at the National Executive Committee meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) held today in Abuja.
The personal assistant to the president on new media, Mr. Bashir Ahmad who conveyed Buhari’s intention to seek re-election in simple statement said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has just officially announced his intention to seek re-election in 2019,” said Ahmad
The national publicity secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi and the chief whip, House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa also confirmed this while addressing journalists in Abuja after the NEC meeting.
The NEC meeting was also attended by the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, senate president Dr. Bukola Saraki, speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Yakubu Dogara and other APC governors.
Meanwhile, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many youths in Kano jubilated as the news broke of the president’s intention to run for a second term.
The youth said they were happy to learn that the President declared his interest in the 2019 presidential race.
Some of the youths expressed optimism that the president would be able to complete the development projects that he has started by the time he completed his eight-year tenure in 2023.
Usman Baba said the past three years of the Buhari administration has been spent restoring security in the country and fighting corruption.
“We are happy and hoping that President Buhari should return to embark on infrastructural development since he has already retrieved a lot from looters.
“We don’t want someone to come and embezzle the retrieved loot or divert it to some looters again. That is why we want him to serve another term,” he said.
Abduljalal Mu’azu, also expressed optimism that if Buhari wins a second term, the country’s situation might improve while a female respondent, Malama Maryam Musa, aid the world had accepted the president as trustworthy and transparent.
It would be recalled that the state governor, Mr. Abdullahi Ganduje had threatened to sue Buhari should he (Buhari) decied not to seek re-election.
Ganduje hinges his obsession with Buhari on the progress made in the last two years, especially in the areas of security, the war against corruption and the restructuring of the economy.
It would also be recalled that Kaduna State governor, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai had earlier in the year led some governors to the presidential villa asking Buhari to seek reelection.
The governors include Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Abubakar Bello of Niger State, Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State and Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State.
“We are politicians and those of us that you see here want the president to contest for a second term of office. So, everything is about 2019; there is no hiding that. We have no apologies for that.
“We believe in the President, we want him to keep running the country in the right direction. So, people can speculate about 2019; we have no apologies,” El-Rufai said.
