Help Us Beg Tinubu To Give Us Appointments, Opposition Presidential Candidates Tell Ganduje

Opposition presidential candidates in the 2023 general election have asked President Bola Tinubu to include them in his administration for the sake of national unity.

The former candidates met Thursday with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Those that attended the meeting held at the APC national secretariat were candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Action Democratic Party (ADP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), and Action Peoples Party (APP), among others.

Speaking during the visit, Ambassador Felix Johnson Osakwe, the Presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), who spoke on behalf of the Forum of Concerned Presidential Candidates, emphasized their commitment to Nigeria’s peace and development.

They claimed that their desire for the country’s peace prompted them to abstain from challenging Tinubu’s victory at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT).

He said: “I feel Mr Chairman, you will be the right person to lead us to meet with Mr. President so that we can air our own views in his presence and also to let him know that it is not all the presidential candidates that were against him. We choose not to go to court because this is Nigeria.

“We are here to thank you and God. The former presidential candidates are willing to offer our services to this country. We have a demand and it is for the party. That a slot in the campaign council for the Governorship elections should be made available to us

“Those of us who have piloted this, we held a meeting and we were asked to demand from you a presence in the Campaign Councils. We believe that our job is much more wanted now as we prepare to go into the polls in the three states in November.

“I am to submit the two names to the chairman. And we believe by your power and by the special grace of God, it shall be done. We will do our best to make sure that three states that we are going into polls for, succeed. And with what we have been doing, we are going to mobilize our parties in those states for your party”.

In response, Ganduje assured that he would communicate their appeals to the President.

In a subtle attack on his political rival and the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Ganduje remarked that the NNPP has seemingly transformed into a profit-generating platform.

“I will convey your views and requests and I will ensure that you see Mr President eye to eye. I thank you for being faithful to your respective parties.

“What I am seeing is one political aspirant who became a presidential candidate by accident. Who became a presidential candidate by hijacking another party because he was partyless.

“He could not give account according to INEC that it cannot qualify it to be a political party. He decided to hijack a political party and since he could not realize his aspirations, he decided to make that party a revenue platform rather than a political party.

“He has now decided to even expel the founder. God forbid. He will not succeed. You presidential candidates, I salute you for being good ambassadors of your own political parties not destroyers of your own political parties and not turning your political parties to sources of revenue.

“Since you cannot get the presidential tickets, you will get pocket ticket. I thank you. No doubt we will include you in the three states that we are having elections come November this year,” said Ganduje.