Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bisi Akande, has described the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as a patriotic leader whose good work would not be forgotten by Nigerians.
Akande, who led a delegation of political associates to Kaduna yesterday to condole with the Buhari family, said the erstwhile President’s passing was a painful personal loss.
He recalled their last meeting in Daura before Buhari relocated to Kaduna, saying, “I first heard that he died when I was abroad. Before then, I met him in Daura after our feast. We had a nice time together. He was looking robust, he was healthy, very strong.”
The elder statesman said their conversation on that occasion gave no hint of death.
BUT the 2023 Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has alleged that the foreign loans the Federal Government has persistently taken since the inception of Bola Tinubu’s administration were to influence the 2027 general elections.
He made the claim in a chat with newsmen yesterday, alluding to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that was profiling issues of ethnicity in politics in prosecuting the elections and the imperativeness of a coalition by the opposition leaders to face the incumbent in a move to unseat the President at the poll.
Rhodes-Vivour said, “You saw how tightly contested 2023 was. If we are fair, you will see that there was an attempt by former President Muhammadu Buhari, now late, to conduct a free and fair election. There was a genuine attempt that we’ve seen to ensure that the election would not be monetised.
“Now, that’s not going to be the case. You have seen a huge amount of money that is being borrowed by this government, that is what they are using the money for. A lot of these funds would come in to monetise these elections.”
He warned the electorate, especially Lagos residents, to prepare their minds ahead of the coming general elections.
On what the opposition, to which he belongs, is doing to forestall the feared plans, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour told the team of editors that the eyes of Nigerian voters are being opened to the basic election rigging machineries.
