10th March, 2019
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, says the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Feb 23 presidential election has put to an end to money politics in the country.
Mustapha said in a statement issued on Sunday in Ilorin by Mahmood Olayinka, his special assistant on media, that the nation’s polity had taken a new shape with the conduct of a presidential poll devoid of influence.
According to him, the outcome also showed that power has returned to the people as against the usual deployment of state power in the past to manipulate the election in favour of the incumbent.
He maintained that Buhari had all along demonstrated that he was not desperate for power with the total autonomy granted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to discharge its constitutional responsibility.
Mustapha, who acknowledged that there was no perfect system in the world, asserted that whoever faulted the outcome of the poll was not a true democrat.
The former governorship aspirant in Kwara added that the insinuation in some quarters that Buhari was not a Democrat had been proved wrong.
He pointed out that a new chapter had been opened in the nation’s democratic experimentation in which the successive administrations would be expected to improve and consolidate on.
Mustapha stated that power belongs to the people in a democratic setting and should be treated with utmost dignity and fear of Almighty God.
While congratulating the president for his victory and setting a new template for democratic governance in the country, the APC chieftain called on the newly elected political office holders to fulfill their campaign promises to the electorate.
“For us, the outcome of the presidential election did not come as a surprise, for we have expected the victory for ours’ party presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.
“His belief in the masses and that power belongs to them has remained unshaken.
“President Buhari has by the conduct of the just concluded election, proved his diehard critics wrong that Nigeria can be a model for other nations of the world as long as we can have one man, one vote, one woman, one vote and devoid of the age-long monetary inducement.
“This has therefore put to shame those who believe in the power of money to influence the people into doing their bidding not minding the dire consequences of such on the people in the nearest future,’’ Mustapha said.