Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Director, Presidential Campaign Council Field Operations, Nuhu Ribadu, has dismissed criticisms trailing the presence of two Niger Republic governors at the President Muhammadu Buhari campaign in Kano state, arguing that Chadians, Nigeriens and other West Africans are free to campaign for him.
Speaking to newsmen on the side-line at a one-day workshop for participants in a programme organised by the APC presidential council field canvassers in Abuja, the former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) warned that nobody should interfere in the fundamental rights of free movement as enshrined in the ECOWAS protocol.
He further insisted that although they might or not may not make any appreciable impact on the outcome of the elections, citizens of West African countries that feel strongly impressed with President Buhari’s performances however were free to join his campaign.
Asked about his take on the presence of two governors from Niger Republic at Buhari’s campaign in Kano, he replied: “For your information, it is a free world and it is the constitutional right of everyone to be where he wants to be. You have no right to curtail anybody from doing what he wants to do. People from West Africa are free to move into Nigeria. We have a protocol or agreement that they don’t need a visa to come into this country.
“I know for sure that they don’t have the vote but as a free West African who believe that someone has done extremely very well, and decided to identify himself with what he believes in, I don’t think there is anything wrong (about that) and I don’t think there is any crime committed. You cannot and you have no right as a Nigerian to stop them from exercising their fundamental right to identify with their friends.
“Their presence may or may not have any impact on Buhari’s re-election, but they are entitled to identify with him. We have to guarantee their freedom because since their presence is within the law, we don’t have any right to stop them,” he emphasised.
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Earlier in his welcome address, he appealed that: “We have to join hands to rescue this nation, we don’t want things to go worse like they were before. We don’t want anyone to steal from our own common wealth again. We don’t want anyone to come and sell some things that belong to all of us to his own few friends. We want justice and fairness; we want to show that nobody is above the law in our own country.
“You (the canvassers) are all believers. You people make this sacrifice as volunteers that have agreed to come collectively to improve ourselves and go to the field. We intend to go to every single door, every single house, every single hamlet, you are going to train others who are also going to carry out this responsibility.
“I know that we are prepared and we have the best people that are going to do the work for us. We are not rich but we will deliver Muhammadu Buhari, Insha Allah,” he charged.
Similarly, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera, tutored the participants on responses to the claims against Buhari administration.
“On the message of poverty, what l say to everybody wherever l go to is that poverty is a fruit and we must agree that when you plant a seed after a while it would grow and then you reap the fruits. The fruits of pain and poverty that we are experiencing in the country today are because of the seed that was planted by the previous government. You must connect with them at that time.
“Secondly, you must now show that you have a government that is planting seeds of prosperity for our future. A lot of the seeds for that prosperity are what we call foundational work. People must identify with that and connect with what the government is doing – infrastructure, railway, roads, airports – and finally you talk to them about the social investment programmes. We have 500,000 N-Power volunteers in 774 local government areas in the country.
“It is the very first of its kind. There is no local government that you will go to that you will not see the N-Power volunteers. Market money, which is money that is given to artisans, is the same thing in the 36 states and 774 local governments. Tradermoni, having gone everywhere and the places where it has not been they are expectant.
“It is the same thing with home-school feeding. Over nine million children are being fed every day in 26 states and almost every week we are adding one more state. Everywhere you go they all know about this, and they know that these are truly credible programmes,” he said.