Buhari gets set for 2019, names Amaechi Campaign DG

With about five months to the 2019 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday confirmed the appointment of Minister of Transport, Hon.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as the Secretary/ Director General of the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, announced this in a statement yesterday in Abuja.
The statement also recalled that Amaechi was the Director General of the Buhari-Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Committee in 2014-2015 that won the elections which brought the current administration into office.
“The new Director General will announce other appointments into the campaign structure as approved by President Buhari.” Shehu added.
Before now, human rights activist and lawyer, Festus Keyamo, SAN, was named the spokesman of the campaign organisation.
With the close of purchase of forms and submission, President Buhari has emerged the sole candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).
He is expected to do ‘battle’ with the yet-to-emerge candidates of other political parties during the polls, which some analysts believe might just be walkover for the incumbent president.
Buhari, it would be recalled, said he was fully prepared to seek re-election for the office of the President in 2019.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has just officially announced his intention to seek re-election in 2019,” a terse statement on April 8, 2018, by President’s Personal Assistant on New Media Engagement, Bashir Ahmad, confirmed his return bid.
He reportedly made the declaration at the April session of the National Executive Committee.
And just before his declaration, the president had spoken against tenure elongation for the then APC Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and his National Working Committee.
He however pleaded that they be given waiver to re-contest, if they so wished.
Reinforcing Ahmad’s position in another statement, Shehu said: “President Buhari made the declaration at a closed-door meeting of the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress.
“The President said he was responding to the clamour by Nigerians to re-contest in 2019, adding that he wanted to give NEC the honour of notifying them first.
“Shortly before making the declaration, the President presented a speech on the report submitted by the APC National Executive Technical Committee.
“The NEC meeting was almost being concluded when the President shocked all of us.
“Buhari told us: ‘I came because of two things- to finally nail this tenure elongation and my ambition in 2019.
I hereby announce to you that I am seeking re-election as permitted by the 1999 Constitution.’ “Most NEC members, especially the critical stakeholders, were transfixed because the President never gave them the benefit of doubt.
Those plotting against him in the party were left bewildered most.
The declaration changed the atmosphere and shortly after, we rose for the National Anthem.” … Caution on Saraki Meanwhile, the Presidency has appealed to President Buhari’s supporters to ignore the crude speeches coming from Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Saraki, a presidential aspirant on the Peoples Democratic Party’s platform, has been critical of Buhari as he tours the country towards realising his aspiration.
But in a statement yesterday by Mr.
Shehu, Buhari urged his supporters to conduct themselves and put across their points of view in a decent language.
He said “The Presidency wishes to react the crude speeches hitting the news from Senator Bukola Saraki, who recently joined the Peoples Democratic Party with the sole ambition of running as the president of Nigeria.
“In response the condemnable and extremely derogatory speeches by the PDP aspirant, we urge all Buhari supporters to display restraint in language and conduct and to always put across their points of view in a decent language.
“Throughout his political career, Senator Saraki has shown that he is a very dangerous person who can go any length to promote his personal interests.
“The language of his campaign is such that cannot be used against a domestic help.
“Is he just knowing that the President lacked vision? This is someone that the Senator had worked with very closely for more than three years.
Amazingly, he never said all that he is now saying against him.
“Rather, his word for and on the President were always respectful and reassuring.
That’s the man he called “My Father,” about him “there is no cause for alarm…a President who is healthy, witty and himself.” What then changed, all of a sudden? “Is he saying these blatantly false and crude things against the President because he is gunning for the same office? Could it be that he is targeting President Buhari because the party he just joined does not have any real issues to highlight? “Be that as it may, our appeal to our supporters is to ignore Saraki and any such politicians bent on lowering the quality of political discourse.
Let them

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