2019: Nigerians Will Beg Buhari To Re-Contest, Says Minister

Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has stated that before the run-up to the 2019 general elections, Nigerians will beg President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a second term in office.

The minister, who was fielding questions from the Tribune, also threw shade at former President, Goodluck Jonathan, saying the ex-president never smbolised anything for the country.

According to him, President Buhari is a father figure, who is giving all he can to make Nigeria attain greatness.

He said: “We still have two years. But I want to assure you that by the grace of God, we would urge him to seek re-election because it is only once in a while that you get a father figure for a nation to move forward and attain greatness.

“He is unlike former President Goodluck Jonathan, who never, with due respect, symbolised anything for the country.

“Buhari’s body language is enough to compel people to do things rightly. In the area of finances, electricity and others. A lot of people have had to sit up even before he speaks. So, we need the Buhari father figure for a length of time for the country to get its act right to attain greatness under his leadership.”

Mr. Shittu also expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious for the Oyo state’s All Progressives Congress governorship ticket.

“I don’t get upset by the number. I expect we will have many more. But, I know that there are so many upstarts who only want attention for the purpose of either going to the Senate or the House of Representatives or getting commissionership eventually,” he continued.

“When the time comes, men will emerge and the boys will be separated. If you look at the records, I am the most senior in age among all the so-called governorship hopefuls. I am the most senior in terms of the years of commencement to politics. I started politics in 1979, after I had become a lawyer already. I became a member of the state House of Assembly as a fresh lawyer.

“So, if I was already a lawyer in 1979 before starting a political journey, you would agree with me that, looking at the records of all others, with due respect to them, there is none (of them) who came into politics less than 10 years after I had commenced my journey.”