A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South South geopolitical zone, has said that the weakness of former President Goodluck Jonathan led to the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, which could be described as the worst in the chain since 1999. The APC Chieftain, who served in Buhari’s government, said there should be no reason to compare Buhari’s government with that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo or any other.
The Chieftain, speaking about his party’s performance in the last administration said it was nothing to write home about. He also alleged that his party did not win election in Rivers State. According to him, the opposition Labour Party (LP) won the elections in Rivers State but the former Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, decided to “give it to our party.”
The Chieftain, who preferred anonymity, said that the former Rivers State governor was compensated with Federal Capital Territory Ministerial slot for his hatchet job in Rivers State. Speaking on the Rivers State election, he said, “Tinubu didn’t win Rivers State. He knows that. Labour Party swept Rivers State. Tinubu knows this. We discussed it. He said, Wike having succeeded in writing those results, you must give him some credit and I kept quiet.”
On the performance of his party in power since 2015, he said, “For me, this is about individuals, who were in leadership back then not the party because these parties are not ideologically driven. For me, Obasanjo was a great leader. Give it to him.” Commenting on Jonathan’s administration he said, “he was the main reason why everybody gathered and said this government must end. He wasn’t a bad leader but his communication was not good.
His immediate aides never helped matters. Everybody was behaving as they wanted. There was no form of control. The same thing with Buhari. If Jonathan had some form of control, he (his party) would have been in power today. The system was so loose that everybody could see it. Buhari’s system was total rubbish. That APC won under Buhari was a miracle. In 2027, unless there’s a huge improvement, APC will not win.”
Asked if he never approved of his party’s performance so far since 2015, he quipped, “I’ll never say that, but sincerely, these things are done comparatively. When it comes to security, education etc. they vary. You don’t just pick it.” On the 2023 Presidential election and the result he said, “l think Tinubu won the election. Let me tell you my take. A massive rigging would have been at most, in five states.
If you compare it to what we usually see in the previous elections, you see the difference. Rivers State has always produced votes in millions. But this is the first time, the total vote of Rivers State was less than 400,000. Of course, the exception is in about four LGAs like Oyingbo, Obioakpor, and ONELGA where Wike went out. Peter Obi would have won Rivers State and Tinubu second. It’s not the same Rivers where results were written massively before.
It substantially reflects what the people wanted. Was it a free and fair election? The answer is absolutely no! Is it an improvement to other elections? Yes. Did INEC comply with the rule? No! Compara- tively, it was better. 2019 was a sham! 2015 was a massive rigging that Goodluck could not control. This 2023 election comparatively was an improvement from the previous elections. On a scale of 1-10, you’ll find it at 5 while the previous elections were below 5. So, that’s my point, but it wasn’t a perfect election.
