By Jacob Ajakaiye, in Kano
Nigeria ruling political party, the All Progressive Congress, flagged off its campaign in the commercial city of Kano, with a promise to make Nigeria a more peaceful and prosperous nation for the benefit of all.
President Muhammadu Buhari promised that his party would do this through scaling up on the achievements recorded in the past years of his administration in the areas of security, economic development and job creation.
The promise is coming on the backdrop of accusation leveled against the leading opposition party in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party, by the party national chairman, Adam Oshiomhole, who accused the party of destroying all the textile industries in the country, when it was in power.
“Atiku said he would create 60 million new jobs, if elected. He also said that the PDP administration, which he served, created seven million jobs, but, we need to know that it is the same Atiku, through the government, that caused the destruction of over 14 million jobs in the textile sector alone.
“The party was responsible for the close down of most of the textile factories in Sharada, Bompai, Aba, and Apapa, and all other cities in Nigeria,” Oshiomhole said.
Buhari, while speaking at the campaign rally held at the Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium Kofar-Mata, witnessed by a mammoth crowd of supporters drawn from across the 44 local government areas of the state, promised that his party would put Nigeria on the path of genuine development.
“I came here to thank you all for coming out in large number, despite the hot sun, to welcome me to the state. From what is on ground I cannot agree less that Kano is a home to me. Previously, I promised to work towards providing a secure environment in the country, this we have been able to do and the people in the northeast part of the country can attest to this.
“We have been able to do this, and many of the displaced people in the IDP camps have returned to their various homes in the affected areas. On the economy, we have been able to boost agriculture production that has led to reduction in food importation. This we have been able to do with the help of God who provided good weather in the past farming seasons.
“I want to assure you that I have served in the government at all levels, and now as President, and my goal is to ensure that Nigeria is made a peaceful and prosperous nation for the benefit of everybody,” he noted.
In his address earlier, Adam Oshiomhole, chairman of the APC, who presented party flags to all the candidates of the party in the coming election said that the party is confident of winning the coming elections in the state and the nation
Oshiomhole, who took swipe at the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Peter Obi, urged the electorates in the state not to vote for the party.
He described the PDP’s presidential candidate as a liar, who is fond of jumping from one party to the other, and unlike the APC candidate, lacks the integrity to deliver on the promises he is making, particularly, accused PDP of causing unemployment through initiating policies that led to the closure of all the factories in the country.
“The other day I listened to the PDP running mate to Atiku citing data from China, because he is half Chinese and half India, as well as half Ibo and half Yoruba, who is unable to speaking my own dialect. He said that there are two million cars in Nigeria, and this, children even know that we have more than 2 million cars in Lagos state alone, and over 12.5 million cars in Nigeria,” he said.
The APC chairman also said that the party had been able to destroy rigging machinery of the PDP, noting that it is going to be one man, one vote in the coming election, thanking the people of the state for keeping faith with his party.
The highlight of the ceremony was the official endorsement of all the party candidates, particularly governor Abdullahi Ganduje, whose candidacy has been characterized by controversy, in respect of an alleged bribe scandal aired by online media recently.
President Buhari at the occasion raised Governor Ganduje hand as a mark of his endorsement of his candidature.
