Oshiomhole Accuses Atiku Of Working For Foreign Interests

President Muhammadu Buhari, Wednesday, bragged that he was not corrupt because in all the positions he has held in the country, he has never been found wanting.

This is even as the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, accused Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of working seriously for the interest of the western world.

President Buhari made the declaration while addressing members of All Progressives Congress, APC, as well as party supporters at the Presidential campaign rally in Abakaliki township stadium, Ebonyi State.

Recall that Buhari was former Head of State in 1983-85, governor of the Northeastern State, 1975–1976, and chairman Petroleum Trust Fund between 1994 and 95.

The President said: “I can assure you that I, as the President today, have never been in a position of abusing trust as a governor of the whole six north eastern states, as minister of petroleum for over three years and as a former head of state. I was arrested, detained, investigated but they never found anything against me.”

He thanked Ebonyi people for turning out in large numbers for the rally, stressing they had demonstrated that they could not be bought over, and urged them to hold him to his words.

Buhari recalled that when he came for campaign in 2015, he promised three things: first, to tackle the security situation in the country, stressing that at a time 17 local governments in the north east were under the control of Boko Haram.

He enthused that as at today, there was no local government under the control of the terrorists.

“The important thing is that, please try and hold us by our promise. When we came here the last time, we told you there are three fundamental things the country is facing.

“First, we have to secure the country because part of the country is under threat in the north east. At least, 17 local governments were in the hands of Boko Haram. Second, the economy, able-bodied unemployed persons in Nigeria are too many. Third, fight corruption.

“They have resulted in indoctrinating young men and abducting young girls below the ages of 15, wrap them with explosives and send them to soft targets- churches, mosques, market places and motor parks. Even that is becoming rere now,” the President said.

Buhari also said that with favourable weather, Nigeria has achieved food security and no longer imports rice, adding that the money saved from importation was being used for infrastructural development.

He added that the monies were now being channeled to building of roads, rails among other infrastructure development.

He said further: “We thank God that Nigeria prayed very hard and the three previous rainy seasons were good. The government realized it and asked the Central Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture to give soft loans and make fertilizer available to farmers at half the price it used to be.

“Every able-bodied person who does not feel too big to earn a living went back to the farm and nobody regretted it.

“We have now virtually achieved food security, we no longer import rice as we used to and the money we have saved are for infrastructure. We are doing roads, the rails and we are doing the new standard gauge and we are improving power.

“The last thing is about fighting corruption and bribery. Fighting corruption is a very difficult process but we are doing our best by trying to reorganise the Nigerian police and/or the judiciary itself.

“Because, we appointed people that went into public office without their own houses, without even, may be good cars, but within three years they build houses in Abuja, open accounts in Europe or America and we cannot touch them.

“But when we discover what they have, we take them to court and when we take them to court we hope they will be prosecuted and then we will punish them.”

President Buhari solicited the votes of Ebonyi people to enable him continue with the work his administration had started.

He said: “What this administration is doing and what it will continue to do, if you vote me back is to make sure we realise the potential of our people and the resources God has given us to make life better for this country, for our future generations.”

Also speaking, National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who received 25 leaders from other parties, who have resolved to work for the APC, accused the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar of working for foreign interest.

He argued that the letters by the former Vice President to United Kingdom, United States and European Union, EU, were appealing to western sentiments angling to take over Nigeria’s economy.

“The right to defend Nigeria’s sovereignty is not negotiable,” Oshiomhole asserted, maintaining that Atiku deferring to western interest would only injure Nigeria’s economy and pauperise the people.

Callng on voters never to vote for Atiku, Oshiomhole described the forthcoming elections as a class war between the elites and the poor, insisting that Buhari’s policies, including TraderMoni, were pro-poor, despite the complaints of the likes of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ebonyi State APC chairman, Eze Nwachukwu Eze, described Governor David Umahi’s administration as total failure, urging the President to resist the temptation of believing the governor’s sweet talks that he will support his re-election.

He said civil servants in the state had been short changed by PDP’s administration and that the governor paid only what he felt like paying at the end of every month.

He alleged that Umahi met 5,200 workforce when he resumed in 2015, but had depleted the workforce to 3,200 in 2019, with no efforts to replace the dead and the retired.

Ebonyi State APC governorship candidate, Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, assured that Ebonyi would deliver total vote for APC.

He said: “We are resolved to lead the state to prosperity and advancement. It has been in the wrong hands since 2015. Our state has dined with maladministration since 2015 and will die except we rescue it now.”