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Presidency reveals reason for Buhari’s neutrality during APC presidential primaries

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The Presidency, on Friday, revealed the reason behind the neutral stance of President Muhammadu Buhari, in the aftermath of the recently-concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, made the revelation via an essay titled, “Knock, Knock! Who’s There?”

According to Adesina, Buhari’s neutrality throughout the process, showed how much of a democrat he was, one who would walk the talk of his promise regarding leaving a legacy of a free, fair and credible process for the country.

The essay read, “In an interview he granted in January, this year, President Muhammadu Buhari had indicated that he had a favorite candidate. Would he name the person? He balked, saying he would be exposing the individual to too much risks, including possible elimination.

“It was human to have a favorite in such situation, and the President did no wrong. But would you unduly favor the person? Would you throw your weight around, ride roughshod over the others, and impose your favored one on your political party and the nation? We have seen it before. Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, did it with Umaru Yar’Adua. He did same, though to a lesser extent with Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Can Buhari do it and remain a democrat, fair, impartial? Knock, Knock! Who’s There?

“That was the matter of interest in the week before the primary election. There were at least 23 aspirants. Who would the President give the nod? Could he remain neutral, non-aligned? At least, he had confessed he had someone in mind. Would he remain even-handed, detached, non-discriminatory?”

Read also:Buhari hosts Tinubu after success in APC presidential primary

Adesina further chronicled the series of meetings amongst the APC stakeholders over whom should be the next presidential candidate, while President Buhari maintained his objectivity.

He said, “There were at least four consultative meetings, towards getting an acceptable candidate for the party. One was with the APC Governors, called Progressive Governors Forum. The other was with the presidential aspirants themselves, then with the National Advisory Council (formerly called Board of Trustees), and finally with the Northern Progressive Governors Forum.

“The main things on the agenda was usually who would be the preferred aspirant. What part of the country would he come from? Would the President name his favorite, or leave it to democratic principle of voting? How did the President do it? How did he remain neutral, when he had earlier confessed that he had a favorite? It’s a test of fairness, being a democrat or not, and the President passed it, despite all the odds.

“Each time a consultative meeting ended, there were twists and contortions to whatever the President said. They imported and imputed all sorts of interpretations, mostly unfounded and incorrect. Oh, this is what he meant. He said this and that. This is what he was actually saying. He just didn’t come straight. The man held his peace.

“Primary Election Day came. And the President still remained neutral, despite having confessed that he had a favorite aspirant. How did he do it?”

Bola Tinubu emerged victorious at the primaries and will represent the APC at the 2023 general elections.

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