The Nobel Laureate stated this on Thursday at an event organised by Citizen Forum, held at the Freedom Park on Lagos Island, Lagos State.

Soyinka noted that it was time for the nation to move into a new direction different from that of the PDP or APC.

“For the avoidance of doubt, let me make my position quite clear because I don’t want any ambiguity; I Wole Soyinka will not be voting for either the two so called contesting parties [PDP or APC]. I find both of them worthy of absolute rejection,” Soyinka said.

“For a number of reasons which I will not go into here, I’m not interested in a comparative assessment. My position is simply that it is time for a totally new direction. And obviously, I’m not the only one, as I’m speaking, there is a coalition having its meeting in Lagos from which they hope to produce a consensus candidate.

“There is another group meeting in Abuja, also at the end would send us their consensus candidate. Things have been going on quietly in the background to try and change the direction of this nation in a very positive way, and to make the public understand that they do not have to be enslaved permanently to the old discredited order. It is my sole business in this election.

“I don’t believe in what is called negative vote which means, for me, throwing your vote in a wastebasket, I believe instead in a creative vote, not a protest vote, not a negative vote but a creative vote. And a creative vote means that the will to at least sow a seed through your vote that will germinate eventually. The pace of germination is beyond the control of everyone, but it is never too early to make a beginning. It has happened before in other societies. When a dark horse emerges from nowhere and trumps all the political juggernauts caterpillars and so on with their performers, worthless, their capacity for violence and treachery.”

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Abubakar, however, said those who lost their jobs since the inception of the Buhari administration should vote for him in the February 16 election.

The former Vice President made this known in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

Shaibu said over a hundred million Nigerians cannot afford a decent meal per day.

The statement reads: “We ask our dearest young population who got a job under Buhari in the last four years, to vote for Buhari.

“But all those who lost their jobs and whose relations lost their jobs and businesses to his maladministration to please come out in large numbers to elect Atiku Abubabar who is a harbinger of job creation.”

He also claimed that the inner circle of the president were unhappy with the concerns the US, UK and EU raised over the suspension of Walter Onnoghen as chief justice of Nigeria (CJN).

“Buhari’s cabal is unhappy with the statements from the US, the British and the EU because they know that these world powers have agreed to re-route their latest and most technologically sophisticated spy sattelites including the NAOL-47 satellite to provide comprehensive coverage over Nigeria on February 16.

“The photographs these satellites will deliver can not only show someone reading a newspaper but also which newspaper they are reading,” he said.

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The post 2019 presidency: Atiku Abubakar reveals Nigerians that’ll vote for Buhari first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post 2019 presidency: Atiku Abubakar reveals Nigerians that’ll vote for Buhari appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

There were recent reports that the Minister, who was also a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, stopped campaigning for President Buhari.

The Minister said that the report of him stopping to campaign for Buhari was a mere mischief.

He explained that the campaign office was a rented apartment, which was not his property.

Shittu told The Nation that he rented the property for N3 million per annum and simply could not afford to pay that and the landlord was impatient with him, which led to its closure.

His words, “I think that whole idea that I stopped campaigning for Buhari is nonsensical. I was the first cabinet member who started campaigning for Buhari’s reelection.

“I am still part of this government and part of the APC. In fact, I am a foundation member of the APC and my interactions and relationship with Buhari is not just starting.

“I was his party’s governorship candidate in Oyo state in 2011 and President Buhari has continued to earn my respect and adoration because he is one President who was either the first or the second to willingly reduce his salary by half.

“I think the first leader to do that was Murtala Mohammed who is late now.

“If he can reduce his legitimate salary so that the Nigerian state can utilise that second part for the good of this country, why would I do that? I think the story is mere mischief.

“We had a rented apartment which is not my property. We rented it for N3 million per annum and we simply could not afford to pay that and the landlord was impatient with us.

“He said we either pay or get out and we simply took the most sensible option by vacating the place. We are in the process of looking for another office space for the campaign. We hope to get something cheaper.

“So, it is not true that for whatever reason, I would say that I am no longer campaigning for Buhari. It was the handiwork of mischief makers and a section of the media cannot be exonerated from that.

“They started carrying that report without seeking my own side of the story. That is simply not patriotic. It is self serving and politically motivated.”

The post 2019 presidency: Why I closed Buhari’s campaign office in Oyo – Adebayo Shittu first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post 2019 presidency: Why I closed Buhari’s campaign office in Oyo – Adebayo Shittu appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

The President’s campaign team said Atiku was only able to win the primary because he bought delegates’ votes.

In a press release signed by its spokesperson, Festus Keyamo, SAN, and made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, the organization congratulated the former Vice President, and further accused him of massively buying votes.

The statement read, “We wish to congratulate His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on his emergence as the candidate of the PDP in respect of the forth-coming 2019 Presidential Election.

“However, we note with interest all the reports in the media as to massive vote-buying at the PDP primaries (especially with foreign currency). We contrast this with the speech of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2014 APC Convention when he said as follows:

‘I have always served Nigeria to the best of my ability. I have always tried to give more to the nation than it has given me. This is the principle of service that has guided my public life. Thus, I am not a rich person. I can’t give you a fistful of dollars or naira to purchase your support. Even if I could, I would not do so. The fate of this nation is not up for sale.’

“There were also media reports in the 2014 APC National Convention that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar freely used the same method of massive vote-buying in foreign currency, but he came a distant third. Till date, he has not denied those media reports. The claim therefore that the process that produce him now as a candidate of the PDP was free, fair and transparent is suspect.

“It is therefore clear that going into this election the issues that will agitate the minds of Nigerians most would be centered around the credibility of the candidate of the opposition and the kind of values he brings into our politics.

“Nigerians would ask themselves whether he can be trusted with our national resources with this proclivity for ‘dollarising’ the political arena, thereby taking us back to the warped values from which President Buhari is trying to extricate the nation. One wonders what such a candidate would do with public funds.

“Nigerians would also note with interest the verdict of Atiku’s former boss when he was Vice President on his credibility and integrity, calling him unprintable names at different occasions. Nigerians would note that in all of these occasions, Atiku Abubakar had never defended these allegations against him by his former boss, but continues to court his support and cooperation.

“Nigerians would want to know how candidate Atiku Abubakar intends to inspire a nation to believe in his ability to fight corruption in the face of very damning reports both locally and internationally concerning his records on corruption whilst he was in public service as a Customs Officer and later when he was Vice President of Nigeria.

“We note with amusement that on many occasions Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has tried to claim some credit for certain ‘achievements’ during the tenure of President Obasanjo when he was Vice President because, according to him, he was ‘part of that Government”. We also wish to remind Nigerians that as much as he claims the credit, he must be prepared to accept joint liability for all that happened in that Government. He cannot blow hot and cold. In due time we shall talk about all these.

“Taking all the above into considerations, Nigerians would rightly ask whether a leopard can indeed change its skin despite all the sweet talk they expect to hear from the opposition candidate during the election.

“Finally, in the history of elections in Nigeria, the choices before Nigerians have never been clearer than now: Nigerians would have to decide between a candidate with a history full of credibility crises, damning reports on corruption both home and abroad and another candidate, (the incumbent President) with an unblemished record in public service.”

The post 2019 presidency: Buhari’s camp attacks Atiku, reveals how ex-Vice President won PDP primary first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post 2019 presidency: Buhari’s camp attacks Atiku, reveals how ex-Vice President won PDP primary appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.