A presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adamu Garba II, has expressed his support for President Muhammad Buhari re-election.
Adamu Garba, the CEO of IPI Solutions reassured his commitment to fully support the re-election of Buhari and other APC candidates at all levels.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Adamawa-born businessman cum politician said as an indigene of Adamawa, he would have naturally supported Atiku whom he described as an undisputed political figure.
But he said he decided to go for Buhari because he believes the President is addressing the pressing challenges of the economy.
While tracing the struggle for the return of democracy in Nigeria, he noted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was the beneficiary of the democracy failed to achieve much in 16 years because of the institutionalisation of patronage system.
The statement read in parts: “In the early 1990s, there was a build up by different interest groups urging for a return of Nigeria to democracy. As the momentum generated international interest, the government of the then Gen. Babangida decided to plan on how to retain control should the move became successful.
“Part of the move was the establishment of patronage-driven policies, e.g. many government agencies, the creation of more states to appeal to political interests and putting these institutions under political cronies.
“Those institutions eventually, became the drain pipes of Nigeria’s wealth. With the coming of democracy in 1999, PDP inherited most of these institutions by further extending them to accommodate much larger political interest group.
“Appointment into those agencies became a political bargain for “Returns on Investment” to political leaders. The ‘Returns on Investment” is what we see, when after winning an election, various interest groups will lobby for important positions, based on hierarchy, from a juicier position to less juicy positions depending on the level political leaders’ ‘investment’ to establish power.
“These are the reasons why PDP, after 16 years in power & getting so much money from Nigeria’s commonwealth, has little to show in terms of building a country of hope for the future. Most of the monies were siphoned through juicy agencies to political principals.”
He said returning the governance to PDP would be tantamount to continuing the patronage system which would benefit only the few who are children and relatives of those in power at the expense of the majority.
Garuba noted that this would jeopardize the future of the youth.
He commended Buhari for being bold and daring to confront issues silently weighing Nigerian economy down, urging Nigerians to give him another chance.
“For the first time since the early 90s, we have a govt that dare to press a reset button on those institutions of drains, following through carefully, though strategically and silently, identifying these drains and sealing them one after another. This is the govt of Muhammad Buhari.
“I’ll continue to love, respect and value Atiku for his astute desire to #GetNigeriaWorkingAgain. However, on the notes highlighted above, based on my findings after an investigation, I choose continuity, I go for APC Nigeria, I prefer the Next Level,” he stated.
