President Muhammadu Buhari has come under fire for declaring his intention to run for a second term. Buhari had on Monday announced his intention to seek re-election in the 2019 presidential election.
This was disclosed by the President’s personal assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmed.
Ahmed had stated in his Twitter handle: “President Muhammadu Buhari has just officially announced his intention to seek re-election in 2019″.
However, the Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP) has lambasted the said the President, saying he has nothing to show Nigerians, in terms of concrete achievement, to make him think of seeking re-election.
While reacting to the President’s declaration of intention to seek re-election, the CNPP in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, saidNigeria should be thinking of electing a patriotic politician who understands economic dynamics and inclusive governance.
“It is disappointing that the President will choose to declare for a second term at when the security of lives and property of Nigerians cannot be guaranteed.
“The President’s declaration of intention to run at this time is the height of insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians who are suffering under his administration as he has nothing concrete in terms of achievement to show Nigerians.
“Today, we can count businesses that have either collapsed or are operating under the worst economic condition in history of our dear country, with no single high profile conviction in his so-called anti-corruption war in three years.
“His anti-corruption campaign has obviously be turned into a blackmailing tool aimed at painting one political party black, while anyone accused of corruption that joins the All Progressives Congress (APC) automatically becomes a saint and must be protected to enjoy his loot. That is not war against corruption.
“Nigerians at this time should be moving with the global tide by thinking of electing a successful patriotic man or woman as President.
“Re-electing the incumbent is to vote for continuity of failure as the first term in the office is usually the time to win the confidence of the electorate but Mr President has performed so woefully in security, nation building, provision of infrastructure, employment generation, name it to seek re-election. His government has failed all-round.
“We, as Nigerians, have experimented enough in the last three years. The hungry and jobless citizens can no longer endure, and cannot afford to see another four years of this failed administration after 2019”, the CNPP said.
On her part, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls, BBOG, advocacy group, has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of his ambition to seek a second term in office come 2019.
In a tweet on Monday, the former minister of Education wrote: “Reading the Breaking News that our President will be seeking reelection in 2019, I remembered the story of the “Ejionu” masquerade.
“Our President had not yet recovered from his first journey and here he is UNLIKE the very wise Ejionu, seeking to embark on a second one. Hmmm.
“The nice part of the “Breaking News” is that it is good to formally know that it is directly to @NGRPresident @MBuhari that Nigerian citizens will shortly be handing the APC’s own #RedCardToAPCAndPDP in 2019.
“There was a masquerade which in a burst of Hubris left its own village & strayed into a neighboring town.
“The neighbors gave it the beating of a lifetime, it barely survived.
“Asked some months later if it would go again, it replied:
“I have not recovered from my 1st journey!”.
Also, Youths of opposition Peoples Democratic Party has described the public declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as a dead on arrival project and show of insensitivity.
In a statement signed by Honourable Inioribo Tamunotonye, the National Coordinator of Peoples Democratic Party National Youth League and the Publicity Secretary Zainab Al-Amin, and made available to our reporters, the party youths questioned the rationality of the President to seek for a fresh term after his woeful performance and failure to address myriads of challenges facing the country.
The statement reads;
“It is preposterous that President Buhari has decided to score another low by disregarding common sense to declare interest for a fresh mandate after his abysmal performance and betrayal of trust of the Nigeria people.
President Buhari that came to power through the change mantra and his overloaded promise of improved economy, security and prosecuting the war against corruption, turned out to reward Nigerians with a very hostile economy and even worsened the security condition of our dear country. Buhari has given Nigerians the negative change and his administration has become the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria.
Despite the epic failure of the administration, we are shocked that the President that is supposed to surrender himself to the nearest prison for crimes against the Nigeria people after May 29, 2019, has the guts to seek for a fresh term in office”.
We are disappointed in this new low of President Muhammadu Buhari and we assure him of the determination of Nigerians to disgrace him at the poll and unceremoniously send him packing from Aso Rock”.
“Buhari’s declaration for a fresh term is simply an exercise in futility, a dead on arrival project”, the statement concluded.