The Minister of Transportation and Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organization, Rotimi Amaechi, has described the just-concluded election as a “referendum” on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The former Rivers State Governor, while speaking at a press conference in Abuja, also berated the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) over its stance to petition the United Nations and other international bodies over the involvement of the military in the general elections.
The Minister stated that the highest superior authority in Nigeria was President Muhammadu Buhari, hence, PDP’s decision was irrelevant.
He said: “The UN doesn’t have business in Nigeria because under this Buhari government, no superior authority. The highest superior authority in Nigeria now is Muhammadu Buhari.
“The purpose of this press conference is to thank Nigerians for supporting the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari. They turned out in large number to vote Buhari back to power. I don’t know how true it is but I saw on the social media that the New York Times paper wrote that it was a contest between corruption and integrity.
“Election is over and we are no longer discussing corruption but want to implement the policies that will ensure that the money that belongs to Nigeria are kept for Nigerians alone. The cardinal point that the president has continuously focused on fighting against corruption and the need not just to rehabilitate the economy but also to make it grow, because of the challenge we faced under PDP in 2015.
“He has said that the economy will not grow if we don’t focus on security and ensuring that lives are secured all over the country. We are basically saying that none of those cardinal objectives will be forgotten. Good enough, he has said he will run an inclusive government.
“We are humbled by the number of people that turned out not just for the election but the huge crowd that turned out during campaign. The different character we have in this election is that the support in the south increased and tripled against what we had in 2015. That indicates the acceptability of President Buhari across all parts of Nigeria.
” I told my colleagues that it is only those who failed elections that gather for meetings while the winners just gather to pump Champagne and drink to their victory. We are celebrating but we are conscious of the fact that we want to repeat what Gowon said in 1970, no victor, no vanquished. We enjoin our colleagues in PDP to join us in ensuring that Nigerians benefit from good government.”
