PRESIDENTIAL aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed, has told the party that if he is given the presidential ticket, he will run President Muhammadu Buhari out of office in next year’s election.
He made the declaration at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja when he came to officially declared his interest to contest the election to the National Working Committee (NWC) on Friday.
Presenting himself as one who has invested in youth development through education, the aspirant who is the proprietor of Baze University, Abuja, said even if he does not get the ticket, he would continue to cooperate with the party, adding: “If I deserve the ticket, give me but if I don’t get it, I will cooperate.”
He said the anti-corruption fight of the present administration is a ruse as according to him, the government was brought into power with corrupt resources.
He said the president cannot claim not to be corrupt when he surrounded himself with relatives and friends who have become very wealthy in office.
According to the aspirant, he had been one of the closest people to President Buhari but he left him in 2011 when he discovered that the president was not clean.
He observed that Buhari had also rewarded some former state governors who were known to have been corrupt in office.
He added: “There is stealing going on in Nigeria as I speak. This anti-corruption is a lie. How can one collect corrupting money from people’s salaries to campaign at the election and you come to power to say you are fighting corruption.
“How can your friends and relatives be making billions at our expense, inflated contracts are still being awarded.
“Two notoriously rich former governors have been rewarded with two of the biggest ministries.
“I am inviting President Buhari with due respect to come out and address an international press conference to say that his government is not corrupt.
“Let him tell us categorically that his administration is not corrupt.”
The Kaduna state-born presidential aspirant who joined the PDP from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), challenged the president to come clean on how he raised all money spent on his election campaigns in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015.
Baba-Ahmed pointed out that there is an uncontrolled slaughter of innocent persons around the country as the government has failed to live up to its responsibility.
According to him, “a government that cannot protect the lives of its citizens is not a government.”
He vowed that he will stand with Nigeria and rescue or if given the opportunity, saying that the country cannot be saved through blame game.
He observed that Nigeria is only at 40 percent of what it was when the All Progressive Congress (APC) took over, describing the ruling party as a concoction which he said has no structure.
Baba-Ahmed stated that if APC is allowed to return to power in 2019, it will be the fault of the PDP.
He, therefore, advised the party to choose its candidate wisely.
In his response, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, advised the aspirant to go round the country, meet with the delegates and speak up about Ills in the country.
He vowed that there will be no imposition of the candidate under his leadership, assuring that if Babba-Ahmed emerges as PDP candidate, the national leadership will work with him. (Nigerian Tribune)
