Former Deputy Director of Buhari Presidential Campaign Council, Mohammed Lawal, has dismissed opposition to the re-election efforts by President Buhari’s friends and supporters, saying it is certain that no one can stop the moving train in 2019. Lawal, who is a director on the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in an interview with VINCENT KALU, insists that there are more than enough strategies in place to defeat anyone standing against the president at the next general elections.
Not minding that some governors have endorsed President Buhari for second term, there are indications that some people want to stop him. Do you see that coming to pass?
We know that within the party there are some people who still bear grudges, as a result of resounding defeat they suffered in 2015, and some of them are still presidential aspirants, and they will like to re-contest. In Nigeria’s party politics, the president has the first right of refusal.
During the meeting of the highest stakeholders of the party, a motion was moved for a vote of confidence, and the party said, ‘we have confidence in the way you are leading us, leading the party and leading the country.’ That was a vote of confidence passed on President Muhammadu Buhari to continue.
All the party’s major stakeholders were there. The only major stakeholder who was not there and who contested 2015 presidential primary election with President Buhari was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Some of the governors individually came out to say that they have absolute confidence in the President, and they moved a motion in very clear words that he should continue in 2019. The stakeholders also chorused, and it is only the president who can say no.
The president wants to take it easy, he is a human being and not an angel, and some people felt offended in one way or the other, and have complained. The president in his humility, apologised, and gave example and reasons for the appointments he has made, which may be tenable to some and untenable to others.
He wants to go about to make people to understand that there are problems, and that things may not work as expected and we have come far, and what is of paramount importance to us is the country; the legacy we are going to leave behind for our children and grand children and generations to come.
In-fighting in a party that came and took over from a ruling party that misruled and ravaged the country for 16 years is not going to get us anywhere; so let us understand each other, and sit down and lay a fresh foundation for this government and country with President Buhari in the saddle.
God willing, nobody can stop him, and he is going to contest to continue to do the good work that he has started for this country.
Recently, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service and a member of President Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, Hameed Ali, during the official opening ceremony of Buhari Support Organisation’s (BSO) national headquarters in Abuja complained that Buhari appointed people who didn’t work for him during the 2015 presidential election. How can this be addressed so that it won’t jeopardize the president’s re-election bid?
Hameed Ali’s BSO meeting came earlier than the APC NEC meeting. As I told you earlier, during the NEC meeting the president apologised for such. What is important is, there are people placed in positions, and the president has finished his own.
For example, if the president made me the chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, it is now left for me to go and continue to do what I’m supposed to do to others to give back the goodwill the president gave to the people who are lower than me. There are people who are supposed to carry on with the mandate, by giving back to the electorate; giving back to the people, but they didn’t do that. They shouldn’t come and complain, blaming the president. The president cannot go and begin to give appointments at local governments, in ministries etc.
Once he gives at a level like our own, NNPC as board member, I thank him so much for that, I didn’t expect it, but it is not for me to go and tell the president to put these people in NNPC refinery or any of the NNPC parastatals, it is me that should do that. I shouldn’t go and complain or blame the president for not doing that, I should do that. As far as NNPC is concerned I represent him there, and I should do what I’m supposed to do so that the goodwill will go back to the president.
People shouldn’t be complaining, they know what to do and they have been given all the encouragement to do that. That notwithstanding, the president tendered his unreserved apology during the NEC meeting. He gave reason and that reason is tenable. Everybody knows that the economy is in a bad shape, and we are working to bring it back to life. Even the World Bank is giving thumb up on the management of the economy by the Buhari government. As it is picking up, the benefits will get to everybody.
The key issue is, work for the president, and defend the programmes and policies and work towards actualizing the mandate. Like I said earlier, the president is not a magician or an angel, he can’t be 100 percent perfect. If mistakes are made, they shall be corrected.
Even the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that stayed for 16 years, I’m sure that by the time they left, there were people who complained that they didn’t get anything. The president will continue to do his best to carry everybody along. Those who are in position and complaining that he didn’t do this or that; they should do what they are supposed to do.
Some of your party leaders are accusing some people who decamped from PDP to APC as polluting and causing crisis in the party. Do you agree with them?
Party dynamics dictate that people from PDP in this government are not APC members by hearts; they were pushed as moles, spies in order to spoil the goals or activities of APC. We are the ruling party, but PDP will want to come back as they were humiliated and shamed. So they can employ any tactic to come back, including deploying moles and spies to spoil our work.
I’m not surprised hearing that. They exist as moles and spies. They left PDP for our party, but they don’t want to be patient. Buhari started this battle over 15 years ago, he began with APP, ANPP, CPC and APC, and he has been patient, he didn’t jump from one party to the other.
You were in PDP, they didn’t give you the presidential ticket, you jumped to ACN, and you didn’t get it; and you didn’t get it in APC and you are going back to PDP, that is the Nigerian politician for you.
The PDP says Buhari running will make it easy for it to win in 2019. According to its National Publicity Secretary, the president doesn’t have record of achievements, and has put the country in a worse state than he met it. How do you react to this?
Let us pray for God to give us life to reach that period and you will see. The situation Buhari found this country can be equated to somebody that found himself in 16-kilometre deep well.
PDP threw this country into a deep hole of 16 kilometers, and when we came we met Nigeria there – deep down 16 kilometers well, and we are trying to come out. We have been sweating to bring the country out from the deep well, and we thank God that we are on top. Price of oil was at its lowest level, selling at about $25 per barrel, but during their time, oil was selling for over $100 per barrel, they didn’t save anything. Agriculture was at zero level during their time, and look at the quantum of loot discovered and recovered.
I was reading the other day that former President Jonathan on the eve of election signed $500 million and N100 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria to PDP machinery. That is how we found our economy. Everybody was desperate, and nobody knew that tomorrow was going to come. Manufacturing was zero.
We are now on the ground level from the deep well, and the World Bank as I said earlier has applauded the management of the economy and said we are out of recession and that there is good prospect, and if we continue like this, we are not only going to smile, but rejoice.
Look at Boko Haram that was everywhere. They terrified Kano, Abuja, Niger state. One side of Borno was in their hands and one side of Adamawa was also in their hands. With this, a right thinking person is saying that Buhari didn’t do anything, let them come to the field, we are waiting for them. Is it because we are not talking, when we start campaigns they would hear more? Nigerians will chase them with stones. They want to distract us, so that we put somebody they can overrun. I have been in this for almost 20 years. Buhari is there and I said earlier, God willing, nobody can stop him in 2019.
PDP is foreseeing an implosion in APC that will force some of your members returning to the opposition party
In any association, be it political, business, etc, there abound skirmishes and problems, which are addressed to arrive at a compromise. Like I said the president apologised to those who felt bad. There is no need for any implosion in the party as PDP is praying for.
There was one time they said Tinubu was complaining. I said in an interview that he should not complain, and that if he was, I would interpret it that the vice president was complaining because he put him there. Tinubu is an experienced politician, and was not complaining as people insinuated. Buhari is not God and so cannot satisfy everybody 100 per cent. We are pleading with Nigerians to bear with Buhari, he is poised to make everybody to rejoice and as things improve and get better he is going to accomplish that. Let us continue to give him support and encouragement to continue to do the best to take Nigeria out of the woods that the PDP put us.