Only corrupt Nigerians oppose Buhari, says APC

National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

THE All Progressives Congress on Monday said that only corrupt Nigerians and persons opposed to change would be against the election of its presidential flag bearer, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as the nation’s President in 2015.

The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, stated this while speaking with journalists in Benin, against the backdrop of speculation that the former military Head of State would probe past political office holders if he emerged victorious in the 2015 presidential election.

Odigie-Oyegun stressed that the party was interested in the future of the country, rather than digging into the past.

He said, “The only people I can think of, who will fear the Buhari Presidency are those who do not want change; they are those who want to continue with business as usual; they are those who want to continue to profit from the level of corruption in the society. We will have no apologies for people like that.

“But it is clear that from the Buhari’s perspective and that of the APC, the future of the people of this country is too important for us to spend valuable time trying to dig into the past.”

While urging public office holders to desist from corrupt practices, the APC national chairman assured Nigerians that the law would take its course, adding that anybody who believed that the future of Nigeria was greater than his or her personal proclivity would have nothing to fear.

He said, “The message will be clear – whatever you engage in before that is detrimental to the people of this country, please stop it. Change has come. It is time for change and anybody who decides that he does not want to be part of the change and wants business as usual, that is his choice.

“And we are going to go into a situation, post May 2015, where the law will normally take its course. There will be a line drawn on the sand; on one part is the past, the other side is the future.

“If you are part of the future – part of change, part of changing the society from all these deliberate ills that have brought us to our kneels, you are our friend. You have nothing at all to fear. We don’t have time to go digging into the past. The future of our people is the challenge that we have; not the past.”

The former Edo State Governor described the comment by one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s aides, Doyin Okupe, where he (President Jonathan) was likened to Jesus Christ, as ”the highest blasphemous comment” and “the highest level of sycophancy” he had ever heard.

He added that “They will be swept out by the power of the people and God.”

He also expressed optimism that Nigerians would resist every form of rigging in next year’s elections.

Odigie-Oyegun said, “One, we hope the PDP does not rig. Two, I hope the party realises that there is a great movement for change and we hope they (the people) are wise enough. They recognise it and allow the peoples vote to count.

“The international community has been sensitised. You can only rig when the people largely are on your side. I expect that they won’t be foolish enough to attempt the kind of crude and blatant rigging that can upturn the results that we expect and upturn the wishes of the people.

“I cannot predict; we are not in control of security forces. We are not in control of the police. We pray for peace; we want peace; we desire peace in the interest of the long-suffering people of this country.

“But they will need to do something totally crude that any blind man can see. That is for them to succeed on February 14. That, I think, is virtually impossible.”

Credits: punchng.com