Polls: Vote for me, I won’t betray your trust, Buhari begs Nigerians

…Pledges to end kidnappings, banditry President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that he would not betray their trust as he seeks their votes to be returned for another four years in office, come February 16 presidential poll. Buhari gave the assurance while speaking on Friday at the All Progressives Congress (APC), campaign rally held at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna. Speaking in Hausa language, the President recalled the hard stance he took against corruption in the country when he was military Head of State, locked up politicians and confiscated their loot before he was himself ousted and locked up, and many suspects retrieved their seized properties. He pledged that having been favoured by God to return to power as a democratically elected civilian president, he would not relent in waging full war against corruption, adding that this time all loots recovered from corrupt government officials would not be returned to them. The President stressed that such monies and properties recovered from public officers since he assumed office would be deployed for the benefit of all Nigerians in a manner that they would not be retrieved by looters. Buhari stressed that having been elected by majority of Nigerians in 2015 and hoping to be reflected this year, he could absolutely assure all countrymen that he would equally keep faith with them and not betray their confidence in him. Maintaining that his administration has been able to degrade the lethal capabilities of the Boko Haram terrorist group, he also pledged to stamp out the menace of kidnapping and banditry that had spiralled in some parts of the country. The President highlighted other achievements recorded by his administration since 2015, including rice revolution and infrastructure development, promising to do even more if re-elected The APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, in his remarks noted the prevailing peace in Kaduna as achievement of the APC administration, and urged the people of the state not to vote opposition presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, as neither the country nor its treasury would be safe in his hands. He handed the APC flags to Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai and senatorial candidates of the party in the forthcoming elections, even as he charged the Kaduna electorate to insist on voting in Buhari and APC candidates at all levels. Governor el-Rufai, who was accompanied to the podium by governors of Zamfara, Lagos and Kebbi states, assured the President of the genuine love for him by the people of the state, assuring him that Kaduna will deliver up to 80% of the total votes of about four million in the state to APC and Buhari. He condemned Atiku for travelling to the United States “to report to his masters”, declaring that getting a visa and going to America after 12 years shouldn’t be an achievement worthy of celebration by PDP and its supporters. Noting that his birthday falls on February 16, the day of the presidential poll, the governor appealed to Kaduna people to honour him with a memorable gift on that day by even giving the President as much as 90 percent of the votes. Director-General of the President Buhari Campaign Council, Rotimi Amaechi, told the APC faithful to protect their votes on Election Day, alleging that the opposition PDP was planning to rig the poll. The president was driven round the stadium in an open-air bus from which he and el-Rufai acknowledged cheers from the crowd who were chanting solidarity songs. Mathew Dadiya, Abuja