President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday insisted that he would not stop his fight against wiping out corruption from the country.
President Buhari, while speaking at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin during a courtesy visit, said that though he knew that fighting corruption is a difficult task, he would not relent in his effort to wipe it out of the national life of Nigeria.
The President also said his administration had achieved success in food security, fighting of insurgency in the North East and maintaining peace in the country.
He reiterated his commitment to the completion of ongoing projects in Kwara State, citing the successful completion of the Ilorin-Jebba road, irrigation projects among others as testimonies.
He added that he usually visited traditional rulers because of their closeness to the people at the grassroots, stressing that the nation had been able to tackle the prevalence of insecurity in the North eastern part of Nigeria.
He said, “Government has been able to empower the agriculture ministry to provide soft loans and fertilizers to farmers.
“Fighting corruption is the most difficult thing, Your Highness, because we are going after and charging those who have misused the public trust and for those who are guilty,they are sentenced.
“With this, I will not give up and we know that people who believe in us will definitely support and with this, we shall achieve more for the nation.”
At the campaign rally held later at the Metropolitan Square, President Buhari said that the victory of his party in the forthcoming elections was sure and would be transparent.
“The people of North East are testifiers to how we have fulfilled our 2015 promise of restoring peace to the troubled region while all over the country, Nigerians now have enough food to eat.”
He promised to continue consolidating on both fronts as well as sustain the fight against corruption, if re-elected.
He said, “When I came here in 2015, I made a promise on three things; security, the economy and fighting corruption. Today, the people of the North east are our testimony to how far we have done in the area of security. And we have achieved food security; people are now living well. We will not stop the fight against corruption. We will continue to invest the money collected from looters in infrastructural development.”
National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, had earlier assured Nigerians that there was no need to worry about the allegations of the Peoples Democratic Party that the APC was planning to rig the elections by changing the leadership of some security agencies.
“This election is going to be about character. Our victory will be transparent. We do not need to steal what belongs to us. We have travelled across the county and everywhere, people are clamouring for Buhari to come back.
“The PDP is making false allegations because this is the first time since 1999 that election will take place and a PDP man will not be in charge. No one will be blackmailed. No one will be harassed with security agents. In Kwara, the PDP held to power for 16 years by rigging but enough is enough.”
Oshiomhole said he was anxiously waiting for the outcome of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections to celebrate the fall of Saraki from the control tower of Kwara politics.
“We will celebrate the end of 16 years of Bukola Saraki’s tenure in Kwara State on February 16.
“When I saw the crowd on the roadside and listened to what they were saying, I concluded that indeed the end has come for him. I cannot wait for Saturday to see Kwara people celebrate their new freedom. It will be a day for Kwara people and young politicians to realise that the evil a political godson has done to a political godfather will be meted out back to him.
“Bukola politics is all about juicy jobs; that was his complaint here in Ilorin the day we showed him the way out of the APC. He said out of 200 jobs, none was given to him and none was given to Dogara. Everything that has a beginning must have an end. The time of the oppressor is over. That is the case of Kwara and the case of Bukola.”
At the event, the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, explained why APC wanted to oust Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, from the political equation of Kwara State.
According to Tinubu, the opposition to Saraki’s leadership of Kwara politics was not an affront on the political dynasty started by the late Dr. Olusola Saraki, but a need to ‘discipline’ the Senate President whom he alleged had stood against his political godfather. He explained that since another member of the Saraki family, Senator Gbemisola, is in the APC, it would not be right to fight the entire family.
He told the crowd: “It’s been a long time they have been deceiving you. Bukola has been deceiving you. We are not here to fight Baba Saraki’s family because Gbemisola is here and she is his daughter. But today, we have come to discipline Bukola. He is a traitor. He is a slave master. This campaign is therefore the celebration of your freedom; it is the celebration of the falling Berlin Wall which started on November 17, 2018 with the by election in Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Irepodun/Isin.”
The Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, in his address, commended President Buhari for engaging in a peaceful campaign as well as embarking on infrastructural development across the country.