2019 Contest: We didn’t confirm Buhari, Osinbajo ticket – Presidency

*Says Saturday victories show Nigerians’ decision against insults, mudslinging by PDP

Speculations as per whether or not President Muhammadu will retain his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as his running mate for the 2019 presidential election contest may have again reopened as the Presidency denies report in a section of the media linking it to confirmation of same.

Rather it said anybody, who needs information as per what the mode of Buhari’s contest in 2019 will be, should go to APC National Secretariat to find out.

Sahara Reporters and Sun reported that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, on Monday that Buhari will contest with Osinbajo.

But when The DEFENDER called Mallam Shehu for clarifications, he said he did not grant any interview confirming Buhari/Osinbajo ticket, saying it was not his place to do so.

He however did not deny speaking to the press but clarified he definitely did not confirm anything on Buhari/Osinbajo combined ticket for 2019.

“I said many other important things to the pressmen yesterday (Monday) that they should have reported. Why did they not report them but went ahead to report what I didn’t say? I didn’t confirm anything.” He said.

Another Presidency source told The DEFENDER that the publication of such twist was for no other reason except that, “They want to make an issue of a non issue again.”

Reacting to the victories recorded by the ruling APC at last Saturday’s by-elections in the country, Shehu was reported to have said that the ‘decisive’ victories in senatorial and state Assembly elections in Katsina, Bauchi, Kogi states were an indication that the Buhari/Osinbajo presidential ticket that won the 2015 election will do it again in 2019.

The presidential media aide added that the APC’s wins in those states have proved that the ruling party was still very much popular and that Nigerians have just endorsed Buhari and Osinbajo’s joint ticket.

It will be recalled that amidst claims that the Buhari’s government had already lost popularity during to what critics called “hardship” in the land, the President had personally taken votes canvassing to Ondo State, Ekiti and was earlier before them had been represented in Edo asking the people of the trio of states to know that the votes for Rotimi Akeredolu, Kayode Fayemi and Godwin Obaseki were his own voted and that they should vote for him.

To show that the President has never lost popularity for one day, The DEFENDER gathered, the President delivered those Southern states for the APC and still went on to deliver the last Saturday’s by-elections in the North among which some women showed publicly that the votes for the Bauchi senatorial candidate were actually votes for Buhari.

The DEFENDER gathered also that in Daura, Katsina North senatorial district, the single vote that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had in President Buhari’s polling unit was by a mistaken voting by a woman, who was said to have cried for a long time upon realising her mistake.

In his Monday reaction to the by-elections, the President’s Garba Shehu reportedly stated that the victories showed that Nigerians no longer have time for politics of diversion, insults and mudslinging as well what he called the “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop kind of PDP politics”.

While expressing the gratitude of the Presidency to Nigerians for the victories, Shehu assured them that the administration would not relent in delivering good governance and other promises it made in 2015.

The Presidential aide again appealed to the National Assembly to cut short their recess  as there are urgent matters of importance, including budget shortfalls and its implementation, that need to be addressed for the benefit of Nigerians.

Shehu further noted that vote buying during elections remains an offence and citizens have duty to report such incidences to law enforcement agents.