Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has reacted to Wednesday’s outburst by Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that some personalities in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, were out to frustrate the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
In the reaction which could pass for a direct reply, Lai Mohammed said the president has never minced words regarding his decision to bequeath a free, fair and credible election, noting that one effective way of ensuring that comes to pass could be the president’s decision not to back any candidate directly.
The Information and Culture Minister took to the briefing of State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari to reply the Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
He said, ‘On a more serious note, one thing I can assure you is that no matter what, this administration is focused, determined to ensure a free and fair election. But I think with this administration, the most important person is Mr. President and I think he has shown by words and by deed that he is dedicated to free, fair and credible election. And fair, free, credible elections actually means not backing anybody.
‘Everywhere he goes, he makes that very clear even as recently as on Friday when he was in Daura, he said the same thing. If there’s anybody working against a candidate we don’t know officially’.
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Recall that the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, while featuring on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday which was monitored by Africa Today News, New York, alleged that some forces within the presidency are working hard to ensure that the ruling party loses the 2023 elections.
He had lamented that some individuals who were not favoured in the recent party primary were ganging up against the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
El-Rufai, however, failed to name the conspirators, alleging that they were aggrieved because Tinubu defeated their candidate in the APC presidential primaries.
He said these elements were hiding behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to do what he thinks is right.
He had said, ‘I believe there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.
‘They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right. I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.
‘In fact, I had a discussion with president Buhari and showed him why it had to go. Because how can you have a capital budget of N200 billion for federal roads and then spend N2 trillion on petroleum subsidy? This was a conversation I had with the president in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left. It changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.
‘The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the president. People are blaming the governor of the central bank for the currency redesign, but no. You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as president. He did this, the Buhari, Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy with a view to catching those that are stashing away illicit funds. It is a very good intention. The president has his right. But doing it at this time within the allotted time does not make any political or economic sense.’
Meanwhile, the Tinubu/ Shettima All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council declared on Wednesday that it is not perturbed by the claim made by Governor Nasir El-Rufai that some elements inside the Presidential Villa are working against the ambition of its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.