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| Muhammadu Buhari |
The presidential election is slated for February 16, 2019.
The retired generals, comprising 13 major generals, eight Air Vice Marshal (AVM), two Rear Admirals, 12 Brigadier Generals, nine Air commodores, eight Commodores and 17 former military administrators gave the endorsement.
They were led by the former military administrator of Lagos State, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd).
Also among the delegation are former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Minister of Police Affairs Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade and former Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Jubril Ayinla.
Ayinla, who spoke on behalf of others, said future generations would acquit President Buhari “most creditably”.
He added: “On behalf of the generals here today, I congratulate you on the tremendous work done by this administration, and wish to state unequivocally that we are proud of you and fully behind you in the presidential elections next week. We pledge our full support and continued loyalty.”
Buhari, while responding to the endorsement, reiterated his main objective in contesting elections four times and ending up in Supreme Court three times, before he finally won the election in 2015.
The President said: “God has made this country great. We have human and material resources, and may God continue to give us the right leaders. My objective is very clear, and I will continue to do my best.”
According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President noted what he said in his days as military head of state that: “We have no other country but Nigeria. We will stay here and salvage it together.”
Buhari said even if one was blessed enough to send children for training abroad, “after such training, they will still have to come back here. We must, therefore, give our best for our country. The patriotism imbued in us by the military will ever remain relevant. Let’s do our best for this country.”
Describing Nigeria as “a fabulous country”, the President said if it were not so, “the country could not have survived the damage done to it materially and morally in the past”.
He glorified God that after 30 months of civil war, with over two million lives lost, “we are still one country”.
The President Buhari prayed that Nigeria would not lack people, who can exploit its human and material resources.
He added: “The higher you go in Nigeria, the hotter it becomes, and not the other way round. But I can’t complain. I tried so hard to be here three times, ending up at the Supreme Court. So, I can’t complain over anything I am going through now.”
Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Marwa said what informed the endorsement was the observations and the fulfilment of Buhari’s promises.
Marwa said: “As an officer and a gentleman, his word is his bond. After winning the elections, he brought out simple three-point programmes – security, economy and fighting corruption. He led the fight and is leading the fight by personal example – that is the height of leadership. Do as I do not as a say; he has demonstrated that.
“On security, I have touched on the advances made the period before and when he took over from 2015 till date. I put the question, the bombings that use to go on in this Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kaduna and so on, where are they today?
“The herdsmen crisis up and about, the hues and cries, where is it today? Where is IPOB today? The Boko Haram insurgents are not flying their flags like they did before. They were in my local government for eight months, actually, they even lived in my house, believe it or not, but they have been chased off and now they are just in the fringes of Lake Chad. Things are better.
“You look at the infrastructure, it is the same thing. Things are happening everywhere, highways are coming up. There is no state of the federation that there is no work going on; the railways the same thing.
“So, the long and short of it is that when you demonstrate what you say you will do and you are from our own constituency, we must stand up and be counted. “
“And therefore, the retired military officers today with former military governors, retired military officers from the ranks of brigadier general and their equivalents from other officers are here today, to tell him and to tell Nigerians that we are fully behind him in the elections next week and we will do whatever we can within the law to see that he is victorious in the elections.”
In This Story:#MuhammaduBuhari #CalebOlubolade #BubaMarwa #SecondtermBid
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