If Buhari contests today, he’ll win – APC chieftain

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Preye Aganaba, says President Muhammadu will still win the presidential election if it is contested now.

Aganaba, who is popularly called Bayelsa APC 01, said this yesterday in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists. “If President Buhari runs for election today, he is going to win. I don’t think the President is terminally ill, and like every other human being, people fall sick. But the problem is because he is the President, he is in government, you keep hearing stories. But he is back.

“I saw him yesterday (Wednesday), he was looking very fresh, at least he rested very well in Daura,” the APC chieftain said when told that the health of the President might pose a challenge.

The APC 2015 senatorial candidate and a member of the party’s presidential campaign committee advised President Buhari to bring on board other APC competent members who understand the ideal of the change mantra which the party stands for whenever he reshuffled his cabinet.

He said, “I don’t think for now that the APC has any other choice than to re-elect President Buhari. Though people are free to contest, nobody is stopping them, this is APC where we usually have free and fair primaries. In the last presidential primaries in Lagos, President Buhari won more than half of the votes.

“During the last APC presidential primaries, the campaign slogan for Buhari was ‘12 million Assured Votes’ and I don’t think one single vote has left that 12 million assured votes, in fact, more have even been added.

“I am not bothered about the economy because that will be fixed. For me, I’m looking at the politics of various zones because that will determine how much we win the election. Win, we will but by what margin? These are my issues. Then, if we can also do well at National Assembly elections,” Aganaba said. He noted also that “In governance, I think we have done well. Yes, maybe we’re not where we are supposed to be because we also did not know about what we met when we came in 2015. But we have done well.

“A few days ago, we heard the story of Nigeria exiting recession and the prices of foodstuff are coming down. In Abuja here where I live, I get a minimum of 20 hours of electricity and sometimes light doesn’t go off for five days and so on,” he said.

On the remarks by the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, Aganaba said, “she has a right to her choice but I think she has not been fair. If she wants to make such public statement as a serving minister, she should have resigned her appointment,” he added.