Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has dismissed the move

According to him, under a sane democratic environment, an incumbent could only be for the renewal of his mandate at the successful completion of the first tenure. Mohammed lamented that President Buhari might face an uphill task if the quest for a second term was to be predicated on the record of performance during his current tenure.

“Between you and me, has this man performed? Between you and your God, tell me, has he performed? So why are you asking the question? Are you asking me to follow the line of tribal discussion all over the country?

Because he is a Northerner, I must support him; because he is a Fulani, I must support him; he is not performing but because he is a Moslem, I must support him. “I am not like that and you can go and check the nature of my politics. 

I have never been in politics for noise, the position or for material possessions. I have never done that. Why should I do that; I am approaching 70 years of age. If a man has not performed, what is the big deal about somebody coming out to declare that the seat is vacant and any other person can come and contest,” he said.

However, Mohammed charged Akande and other leaders of the APC in the South West not to over-rate their contributions towards the making of the Buhari Presidency as the other regions also played significant roles during the 2015 presidential polls. He said that whereas the average votes garnered by Buhari in Lagos and other SW state was about 700, 000, Kano gave him two million votes.

“Kano and Lagos have the same population and if Kano people are not making noise, why should the South-West be making noise about it? But in any case, was Buhari given the ticket because people thought he had something to offer or was it based on sentiments?

After all, there are people who will come and vote for him, no matter what he has to offer, his performance or non-performance. You don’t do such a thing in the 21st Century,” he said. Mohammed said that the South-West having been part of the plot in the conspiracy to give Nigeria a leadership that is below standard, cannot resort to making noise now as if they were members of another party. Instead, he said, they should take control of their party to ensure that everybody who wants to contest any position has a good and equal opportunity in 2019 .

Chairman, Northern Elders Council (NEC), Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has dismissed the move by the SW Caucus of APC to determine who gets the presidential nomination as premature and at best. an academic exercise.

Yakasai observed that though he was not a member of the APC, he was aware that neither the APC nor the other political parties have commenced the process of nominating candidates for the forthcoming presidential elections. “Honestly, I don’t know from what authority he (Akande) was speaking.

I know he is a chieftain of his party and a Nigerian who is entitled to his own opinion but I think that there is a procedure for nominating candidates for an election.

The process is yet to be invoked. “I don’t think that even the National Chairman of the APC ( John Oyegun) or any other executive of the party has the powers to open or shut the door against any candidate. I am not a member of their party but I don’t know if he (Akande) has the authority to make such a weighty declaration. It is up to his party (APC) to decide whether to field him (Buhari) or not. If the party decides to field him, it is left for Nigerians to vote for him or deny him a second term mandate,” Yakasai said.