A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Tony Momoh, on Wednesday, said President Muhammadu Buhari can seek re-election in 2019 because he has done well in the delivery of his electoral promises.
Momoh, a former Minister of Information, said though there were still some challenges in the country, Buhari had acquitted himself remarkably well as president.
Momoh pointed out those who said Buhari had not done well were either playing politics or refused to check the facts.
He said the president had achieved a lot in the areas on which he anchored his campaign promises despite the herculean problems he met on ground.
“President Buhari has done well based on the facts available and not sentiments. He has done well in the delivery of his campaign promises despite the big problems he met on ground.
“For example, let us look at the area of security, before Buhari came in, the Boko Haram insurgents were operating almost uninhibited, to the extent of seizing territories.
“But for Buhari’s intervention, Only God knows what would have happened to the country because of Boko Haram.
“Also, while some other countries are still wriggling under recession caused by crash in commodity prices, the country is out and is even doing well in the area of diversification.
“Even the World Bank has just predicted that the country’s GDP will further grow in 2018, there are also monumental gains in the fight against corruption.
“I reviewed a book recently on the scorecard of the president and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the revelations about Buhari’s performance.
“Those who do not know, should go and check the facts, Buhari has done well as president,” he said.
He said the opposition was behind the cacophony of voices asking Buhari not to seek re-election based on the way they rated him.
Momoh said they were only seeing Buhari’s performance based on their perspectives which did not reflect the facts.
He said Buhari had the moral and legal right to seek re-election so long he made the decision and the party endorses him.
“The opposition cannot stop Buhari from contesting if he decides to do so and the party endorses him. The facts are different from the prism through which they are looking at his performance,’’ he said.
Momoh called for caution in treating the killings in parts of the country as being caused by Fulani herdsmen.
He said criminals, including Boko Haram, might be hiding under Fulani herdsmen to unleash terror in some communities in the country.
“We should be careful in the way we see the killings in some parts of the country, so that we can have a better understanding of dealing with the problem.
“Some criminals, such as cattle rustlers and even Boko Haram insurgents, can also hide as Fulani herdsmen to unleash terror on Nigerians.
“The herdsmen we used to know were not carrying AK47, how we have come to this problem of killings calls for proper understanding.
“It is not a political matter but a matter that needs understanding and attention because it involves lives,’’ he said.
