The Presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari was not sincere going by what she described as the attitude of the president towards the forthcoming general elections.
According to Ezekwesili, who spoke in Akure, the Ondo State capital while campaigning to residents of the state on the need to vote her as the next president, she emphasised that the processes required for successful elections are being jettison by President Buhari who is also contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Ezekwesili identified the non-signing of the 2018 electoral amendment bill into law as well as the alleged family relationship of the president with one of the top staff member of the country’s electoral umpire as some factors that might affect the credibility of the election.
Her words, “I believe the Nigerian people must be on the alert, I do not trust this APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“He (Buhari) has not shown himself to be trustworthy with the fact that he refused to sign into law, the electoral amendment bill of 2018.
“He should have taken that bill and signed it to law. If it was signed into law, it means we can believe in the electoral integrity of our elections and electoral umpires.
“Today, he (Buhari) has basically weakened the capacity of INEC and avoids them doing the thing that they ought to do according to law.
“So, I do not believe in peace accord that he signed and if it was in good faith. I don’ t trust that the fact that Amina Zakari who is a daughter of a man that married to the sister of the President Buhari being part of the conduct of 2019 election should be trusted.
“I don’t believe a lot of thing around the way that the government is trying to execute the 2019 election but I believed in the Nigeria people and they would not allow anyone to dismantle our hard won democracy.”
While calling on Nigerians to reject the APC and PDP at the polls, she maintained that the administrations of both parties had led the country to her current quagmire where she stated that Nigeria was now rated as the headquarters of poverty in the world due to what she described as mal – administration
Ezekwesili further stated that ACPN will give Nigeria new direction, adding that with in the saddle as president coupled with her exposure, experience and educational background, she will lift 80 million Nigerians out of poverty.
“This democracy, people died and were also maimed fighting for this democracy. This democracy is very greater than President Buhari and his administration. This democracy will survive Buhari.
“The Nigeria people are saying both the APC and PDP government have failed and they must go, so that we build a new nation.
“Nigerians are fed up with the failures of governance, which has become too costly for Nigerians. Just look at us, we are now the world capital of poverty.
“We have overtaken India which is even seven times of our population as a country wit the largest number poor people.
“There are eighty-seven poor people in Nigeria, which is a country of less than two hundred million people.
“In India there are about 1.3 billion people and there are seventy -nine million people in extreme poverty and that is a shameful situation.
“We cannot allow it to continue. The more that bad governance is given to us by APC and PDP, the more that people drop into poverty.
“It is time for change of direction in our country and it is time for us too to take ourselves out of mediocrity and poor performance.
“It is time to become a country that is governed on the basis of knowledge and by someone who has character and competence and know the kind of policy that can grow a economy.
“We are growing at 1.8 percent and that is less than a percentage of our population at 2.8 percent. You know this is disastrous.
“What it means is that children, men women will be lock in permanently poverty. We must break a circle of poverty and that is why I’m running.”
“I am not running so that I would answer a title, I am running so that I will mobilise the Nigeria people to do things will be done differently.
“I am not running alone, all Nigerian must run with me because we want a different Nigeria. The Nigeria that will make children of the poor have access to quality education.”
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Chairman of ACPN, Chief Afolabi Babalola urged everyone to stand firm with the party stating it is set to pull surprises at the poll.
According to him, “It’s time for us to give women the chance. God has lifted up Dr. Oby Ezekwesili to led Nigeria to the Promised Land.
“She has the required knowledge, experience and exposure, so she is the best among all the other presidential candidates,” he stated.
