By Bala Ibrahim
THE people of Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, and home to the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have joined the bandwagon, by going in the popular trend of supporting the increasingly attractive train of the Tinubu/Shetima campaign caravan, which has made an alarming appearance in the city today.
The trio of President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu and the party’s Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stormed the state with a force that clearly ridiculed the rumours of aloofness from the campaign, that is spread by the PDP, to the effect that the President and some high profile members of the party are not supporting the Asiwaju.
The Tinubu campaign train turned the ancient town of Yola into a spectacular arena of fanfare and activities, as President Muhammadu Buhari and many APC Governors arrived with their multitude of supporters at the Mahmud Ribadu Square, venue of the rally, where the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Senator Aishatu Binani, were introduced as those poised to upset the PDP at the state and presidential levels.
In introducing the National chairman of the party at the rally, which was a sea of people, dancing and singing various songs of the party, the Asiwaju and the gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Binani, the Director General of the Tinubu/Shetima Presidential campaign and Governor of Plateau state, H.E.Simon Lalong, urged the people to accord a befitting respect and recognition to him, being the overall head of what he called the largest party in the world.
While speaking in Hausa, the chairman, who started by echoing the slogan of the party at the height of his voice, called on the people to reckon with the work of God, whom he said had brought about the irreversible wind of change, and take note of the fact that the time has arrived, during the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, to fulfil the promise made, for the liberation of Nigerian women.
Adamawa state he said, is about making history, by producing the first woman governor in Nigeria, in the person of Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani, the present APC Senator representing Adamawa Central senatorial district, and one that previously served at the House of Representatives, where she represented Yola North/Yola South/Girei federal constituency.
Sen. Abdullahi Adamu drew special attention to the credentials of Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Binani, as the first female Governorship Candidate in Adamawa State, and one with excellent talent and leadership skills. He called on the people to vote for her during the governorship election, and vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential level, while also voting for all other APC candidates to the national and state assemblies.
On her part, the gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Binani appealed to all, particularly Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Abdulrazak Namdas and the First lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, who were vehemently against her emergence as the party’s candidate, to bury all differences and team up with her for the development of the state of Adamawa. She said the state stands to loose a lot from all the senseless squabbles between them.
On his part, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who had long announced his readiness to work for her success, mentioned his decision not to appeal the court ruling, which affirmed her as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state.
Nuhu Ribado’s action, along with the negotiated support of those against Binani’s candidature, would not only bolster her hold on the state, but fortify the presidential campaign of Asiwaju and that of the ruling APC.
The presence of President Muhammadu Buhari in Yola today, would also send shivers to the nerves of Atiku Abubakar, who hails from the state, knowing that in the state, he only narrowly defeated Buhari in 2019. Indeed Atiku is the Waziri of Adamawa, but Buhari is also an in-law to the people of Adamawa, because his wife, Aisha comes from the state.
While introducing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Presidential candidate of the party, President Buhari said he is an honest man that would not betray the trust of the people. As such, he called on them to vote for him. He said same of Sen. Binani.
President Buhari and the other APC big wigs were in Yola at a time when the airwaves are filled with controversy surrounding the whereabouts of Atiku Abubakar, alongside a viral video of corruption allegations, said to have been carried out while he was the Vice president of Nigeria. In the video, his former media aide, one Michael Achimugu, advanced that Atiku undertook some illegal financial deals, by opening accounts under the guise of what he called, Special Purpose Vehicles, through which certain amounts were passed in the name of consultancy.
Although Atiku’s side has not been heard with regards the video, but Achimugu had released the voice of Atiku, wherein he confirmed the issue of the accounts and even the names of the people used as pseudo or sham Directors.
The scandal emanating from the video, alongside the thundering turnout for Tinubu today in Yola, would undoubtedly give Atiku and the opposition PDP, a sleepless night tonight.
Ibrahim is the director publicity, for the APC.