The Presidency has smacked the oppositions who it alleged have expected a rancorous and inconclusive presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
So, what a disappointment the All Progressives Congress (APC) party flagbearer primary must have been for those who assembled to witness a catastrophe?
Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari, on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in a statement he signed Tuesday, recalled there was “No intrigue, no division, no disagreement, no defeated candidates rejecting the result, no splits, no third-party runs” at the primary conducted last week.
“Only determination to rally around the chosen flagbearer to deliver victory and an APC third term in February 2023.
“The opposition reaction to this successful nomination convention has come by way of a counter offensive, so that we do not go on the offensive” Shehu said.
The Presidency alleged further, saying in some instances, there was clear evidence of a conspiracy to destabilize the governing party and defame the President.
In achieving the plot, Shehu alleged that the media are being inundated with made up stories– speculating about the role of the President in the flagbearer contest: whether he had a favoured candidate, and whether “manoeuvres were made to install them; whether the chosen flagbearer was the President’s choice, or another. And on and on”.
Speculation is easy. But facts are simple. The President always said he had a favoured candidate. He said that candidate was whoever was chosen by the APC in a democratic primary to lead the party at the election.
The Presidency reads in part: “Those still is assailing the APC and the President expounding conspiracy theories and making all manner of speculations about who did what or did not need to understand the important point about the country’s leader: President Buhari takes his own decisions and carries them out without the backup of a so-called “cabal” or back room boys.
“The strong leader myth in Nigeria has lasted far too long.
“People make assumptions that if you are a leader, you dominate everything, and even determine electoral outcomes.
“Luckily for Nigeria, President Buhari does not suffer from such constraints. He refuses to act as the elected autocrat.
“The President had a clear purpose leading up to the primary: to ensure a transparent, free and fair process that will bring back people’s faith in democracy by taking good governance up to the grassroots level.
“By this alone, people’s faith and that of the international community in our democracy has received a major boost since the completion of the APC nomination.
“The flagbearer has been chosen. He has the President’s unwavering support. The journey to victory continues”.
Recall that the ruling APC conducted its presidential primary last week Tuesday and ended it Wednesday, with the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerging as the winner.