Former governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu, has said rigging the 2019 general elections will be a difficult task as Nigerians are now wiser because of the evolution of new media.
Speaking in Dutse, Jigawa state capital, shortly after he presented party flags to some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in the state, Aliyu said there will be trouble if the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) rigs the elections.
According to him, Nigerians and the international community are anticipating an excellent election devoid of rigging.
On allegations that President Muhammadu Buhari’s family owns shares in Keystone Bank and 9Mobile, the former governor said: ” Modern technology would reveal if this is true.”
Aliyu is of the opinion that the PDP government performed better during their 16-year rule than the current APC government. He said PDP established the foundation for the development of Nigeria while in power for 16-years.
“In every change of government, the newcomers will tell you that the previous administration didn’t perform well, the idea was to castigate, justify so as to legitimise.
“PDP is more familiar with the pattern, understand the democracy, constitution and the people of Nigeria. Nigerians now have an opportunity to compare and contrast between political parties that have served the people, ” Aliyu said.
According to him, the APC-led government has taken Nigeria back to the ”preliminary level of 1984-85s where things started deteriorating”.
Also speaking, a former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, said the APC came into existence with the help of the PDP.
“In 2014, APC was a bad woman who cannot (could not) conceive but with the help of PDP, they were able to form a government.
“If you look at the composition of APC in 2014, it’s only Bola Tinubu from the AC (Action Congress); Ali Modu Sheriff, Ibrahim Shekarau from the ANPP (All Nigeria Peoples Party); President Muhammadu Buhari, Buba Galadima from the CPC (Congress for Progressive Change).
These people couldn’t ‘deliver’ Nigeria. They had to look for people from the PDP to come together to produce this government ,” he said.
The event was attended by former governors of Kaduna and Niger states, Ahmed Makarfi and Ramalan Yero, and other party chieftains.
Aliyu had earlier accused the ruling APC of planning to rig the 2019 elections while speaking during the flag-off campaign of the PDP governorship candidate, Malam Umar Nasko, ahead of the 2019 elections.
