…insists lawmakers’ defections won’t affect president, APC’s chances in 2019
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Friday said Sokoto , Kano and Bauchi States in the North will be easy ride for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
The minister also claimed that the governors of Sokoto and Kwara states, Aminu Tambuwal and Abdulfatah Ahmed respectively, would leave the All Progressives Congress.
Amaechi also claimed that Tambuwal had presidential ambition, and that President Muhammadu Buhari would win in Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi states in the 2019 general elections even if he (Buhari) is taken to the states “on a sick bed”.
The minister told journalists that although he did not wish to speak about political matters, he was sure that despite the defection by the APC members at the National Assembly, the party would win the 2019 presidential election.
When told that the APC might be heading for a collapse considering the gale of defection in the party, the minister said, “That’s according to you. Look, you are not a politician so you can’t be commenting on what you don’t know. In fact let’s look at it. Unfortunately I don’t want to speak about this but you are putting me under pressure.
“However, no matter what you do, the Governor of Sokoto will leave naturally. He has ambition to be president. If you take a chicken to him he will still go. The same with Kwara. These are people you expect that they will leave.”
He said, “On those that defected at the House of Representatives and Senate, where do they come from? They come from areas that the President is comfortable. Do you honestly believe that the President will lose election in Sokoto? We are not God, but it’s one of his comfort zones.
“If you bring the President on a sick bed to Bauchi and Kano, he will win and he has never lost election in Bauchi. But that is a bit arrogant on our side; we should not underestimate them.
“I am not God. It is only God who can say the APC will win or not. But what is clear is that if you remove the God element, I think we are prepared to coast to victory because Nigerians will certainly reject a second looting. Nigeria can’t survive a second looting. Never!”
He said the delay by the opposition party to name its candidate for the presidential election about six months to the election would work in favour of the ruling party.
“In our time, it was clear who would be the APC candidate one year ahead of time,” he added.
