- Kenneth Nnabuife urged Igbos to vote President Buhari in 2019
- The APC stalwart noted that Buhari has only one term to spend
- He urged the Buhari administration to start work on the second Niger Bridge
A political stalwart, Kenneth Nnabuife, said on Tuesday, March 27, that Igbos would gain a lot from supporting President Muhammadu Buhari to get a second term.
Nnabuife made the statement while speaking in an interview in Lagos. He argued that it makes sense for Igbo people to support Buhari, to brighten their chances of clinching the presidency in the near future.
The APC chieftain, who is aspiring to represent Ihiala Federal Constituency in the 2019 general elections, said that Igbos should embrace win-win strategies to be at the mainstream of Nigerian politics.
According to him, the easiest way to the much desired Igbo presidency is for Igbos to support Buhari because he has only four years to stay, if he is re-elected.
“Buhari is the only person that has the ability to remove Osinbajo. If he brings in another person that person will stay for another eight years. If we don’t support Buhari, we may be losers at the end," he said.
READ ALSO: President Buhari rejects tenure elongation for Oyegun
Nnabuife, however, told the APC administration to reciprocate the gesture by treating the southeast as part of the country.
He said that the present administration should start embarking on critical projects to win the hearts and minds of people in the southeast. “First, if they can start the construction of the second Niger bridge which has been a point of propaganda right from Obasanjo’s regime, that will gladden the hearts of the people from the South East.
“If they can commence serious work on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, which has been in deplorable state over the years, I assure you that APC will have its way in Igbo land. But not doing anything at all is very dangerous, especially for those of us who are members of the APC."
Asked to assess the performance of the APC after three years in power, Nnabuife said: “The party is doing well under the circumstances they found themselves. But I will also want to be truthful on the fact that the southeast has not really benefitted anything from the present administration.
“It makes it extremely difficult for we members of APC to do our campaign. Sometimes when I come out to campaign, I always have to cajole the party but I also tell them that you don’t solve a problem by running away from it.
“If APC is not doing anything for the southeast, we the southeast people should get into the APC hierarchy and try to let them understand that nothing is being done for our people.’’
Nnabuife said that if he got elected, he would concentrate on micro-economic schemes that would impact directly on the lives of people in his constituency.
“People in my constituency are known for making baskets with the stem of palm trees and our brothers from the north use their trailers to bring in cows, and when they’re going back, they will buy these baskets. When these baskets are taken to the north, they now use them to bring in tomatoes and onions.
“So, since I know that this business is a life wire to people, especially widows and young ones, I will use my constituency money to buy oil milling machines for all the wards. I will pay attention to the management of the oil mills in our communities. These oil mills will make oil from the palm trees, it will provide kernels and materials for making baskets and brooms.
“It will create multiple employment for people. I will encourage them to go into cooperative societies and micro-finance companies to source loans.
"I also intend to bring in organisations that will come to teach youths how to make soaps, perfume, creams and how to do animal husbandry. On his chances of winning in the elections, considering the poor showing of the APC in Anambra, he said that he was optimistic of winning.
“I always like to be optimistic. If I don’t have the belief that I will win, I won’t even go into the contest. But it’s not going to be easy. I have to work very hard because my party is not popular in Anambra state.
“The ruling party in Anambra State is APGA and APGA is not a national party. APGA does not have any interest in the federal or state house, the party does not have the wherewithal to fight for house of assembly members that have interest.
“From political history, the party in the centre has always produced representatives for the federal house, even when APGA was there. Anambra people are wise. They know that when it comes to politics at the centre, it’s better for them to align with the party at the centre than aligning with a state party.
“However, they are very unhappy with the party at the centre but I keep telling them to make wise decisions not based on parties but on personalities because no party is the best.’’
He advised Anambra residents to be mindful that what matters in political representation is the individual and not the party.
“Let them vote for credible individuals that have integrity. They should shun people that give them money to buy their votes, so that at the end, the money bags will know that money is not everything. I wish Anambra people good luck and I hope the best candidate wins at the end," Nnabuife said.
Meanwhile, a group known as the Buhari/Osinbajo Democratic Awareness Coalition committed itself to promoting the achievements of the present administration ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The group stated that its decision stems from its believe that President Buhari remains the best candidate for the APC in the 2019 polls.
Nigerians want PDP back in 2019 - Goodlucj Jonathan - On NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng