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| Vice President Yemi Osinbajo |
A former governor of Niger state, Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has said the APC's best chances of winning the hearts of Nigerians, lies in making vice president Yemi Osinbajo its party’s flag bearer in next year's presidential election.
Aliyu said the APC has people with financial muscles, and may rely on it to walk their way to power, but added that any “riff-raff or moneybags” will not get to the highest office in the land, even if they bring out money.
The former governor and Chairman Board of Trustees of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, made this remarks at the ongoing 2022 annual lecture of the foundation holding in Kano State.
“Mr Vice President, do you know you are the best candidate in your party?” he said, describing Osinbajo as the only candidate that knows the country and has the acceptance of everyone across the country regardless of tribe and religion.
He said they will not allow “riff raffs” to take over the power even if they bring all the money in this world.
“No matter how much money he has, let him bring the money and we will collect it,” he added.
Aliyu was among 19 Northern Governors, who worked against Jonathan's reelection bid in 2015, to help Buhari win the 2015 presidential election.
Aliyu who at the time, was Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, said they had to secretly work against the former President, when it became clear that Jonathan was determined to seek reelection, which goes against their earlier agreement.
He said after they had supported Jonathan to complete late president Umaru Yar’Adua’s tenure and contested in 2011, the former president insisted to run for the office in 2015 against the grain of their earlier agreement.
“Following the sudden passage of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on May 5th, 2010, the leadership of the then governing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) along with the state governors under the flagship of the party had series of meetings on the presidency and the future of our great party.
“All the governors in the North under the PDP supported the then Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to complete the remaining years of Yar’Adua’s tenure and to contest the next presidential election as a sole candidate of our great party.
“However, midway, President Goodluck Jonathan insisted to run for the office in 2015 against the grain of our earlier agreement,” he said in a statement.
Aliyu said that since Jonathan’s quest to contest in 2015 was against an earlier agreement in the party, and which the governors in the North felt their region would been shortchanged if Jonathan had succeeded, they rose stoutly to insist on the enforcement of the agreement.
“On that premise, we opposed Jonathan. But all along, Goodluck Jonathan had enjoyed every support from the governors in the north and the entire region."