Victory for Atiku, Obi, would have retired many APC leaders, says Garba Shehu

• Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, claimed that many leaders of the ruling APC would have been forced into retirement had Atiku Abubakar or Peter Obi won the presidential election.
• Shehu highlighted that the victory of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima respectively, and APC’s control in 21 out of 36 states establishes the party as a dominant national political party.
• Shehu stressed that APC’s victory ensures an orderly transfer of power and the safety of policies and programs of the outgoing government, which may have been sabotaged had the opposition won.

The victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima in the February 25 presidential elections firmly established the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a dominant national political party, according to Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

He also said that many of the leaders of the APC would have been forced to retire had Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or Peter Obi of the Labour Party won the election.

In a meeting with the Arewa Young Lawyers’ Forum (AYLF), the umbrella body for young lawyers in the Northern part of Nigeria, Shehu praised the APC’s control of 21 out of 36 states in the last general elections, saying that it was a difficult reality for the opposition parties.

He went on to say that an opposition victory in the general election would not only have been a career-ending moment for many APC leaders but would have had negative consequences for the various programmes of the Buhari administration that empowered marginalised groups and remedied much of the nation’s infrastructure deficit.

Shehu said, ‘‘APC victory in the election is a watershed moment for the Buhari government, its orientation, its programmes and projects.”

He added that the victory ensured an orderly transfer of power from the outgoing administration to the incoming one, as well as the safety of policies and programmes of the outgoing government.

The presidential spokesman urged members of the association to promote the study and practice of legal profession in the northern states. He said that lawyers and journalists were the guardians and protectors of democracy, and without one, the other would not be successful.

The Implications of Atiku or Obi’s Victory on APC Leaders and Buhari’s Administration

The presidential elections that took place in February 25, 2019, were won by President-elect Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also established control over 21 out of 36 states in the last general elections, firmly establishing the party as a dominant national political party.

Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, spoke while receiving the Arewa Young Lawyers’ Forum (AYLF), the umbrella body for young lawyers in the Northern part of Nigeria.

He said that many of the leaders of the APC would have been forced to retire had Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or Peter Obi of the Labour Party won the election.

Shehu added that an opposition victory in the general election would not only have been a career-ending moment for many APC leaders but would also have had negative consequences for the various programmes of the Buhari administration that empowered marginalised groups and remedied much of the nation’s infrastructure deficit.

Shehu said, ‘‘APC victory in the election is a watershed moment for the Buhari government, its orientation, its programmes and projects.”

He added that the victory ensured an orderly transfer of power from the outgoing administration to the incoming one, as well as the safety of policies and programmes of the outgoing government.