Buhari, CPC Presidential Candidate, kicks off campaign Wednesday in Kaduna

[NewsCaster]

The Guardian - THE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has concluded plans to kick off its presidential campaign on Wednesday in Kaduna.   

Also, the party's presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has explained why he chose Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly as his vice presidential candidate in the coming April polls.

The Director General of the CPC presidential campaign council, Sule Hamma, stated that the CPC presidential campaign, which would first be taken to all zones of the country would later be divided into groups with Buhari and Bakare leading each group as the campaign would be taken to other states and cities.

He noted that the presidential campaign council, which has Bakare as the chairman would also have the CPC national chairman, Tony Momoh, National secretary, Ibrahim Galadima as well as other national leaders of the party as members.

Buhari, who spoke on Saturday in Abuja where he formally presented Bakare to the CPC National Executive Committee (NEC), stated that he carefully chose to work with the pastor because he believed that they both share some similar features in the fight for a better Nigeria.

The former military leader, who urged the CPC members to follow strictly the provisions of the electoral act as well as the party's constitution in carrying out their political activities, noted that Bakare was a man who had shown great courage and patriotism, adding that it was when the late President Musa Yar'Adua was sick that he saw in Bakare the desire to actualise the change, which Nigerians had been calling for.

"I identify that we share some fundamental features, and that is our concern for Nigeria. Pastor Bakare is a man of great courage, patriotism who exhibited his concern for Nigeria, when he mobilised people and organised the Save Nigeria Group, at a period when the late President Yar'Adua was sick and incapacitated," Buhari said.   

Buhari noted that the move by Bakare and others was able to stop certain plans by some sections of the country who wanted to capitalise on the president's condition to destabilise the polity.

The CPC leader who stated that he did not blame the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the failed alliance talk between his party and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), stressed that the PDP was able to work against the alliance because they had seen the CPC as a threat to their plans, adding that he had not lost any sleep because of the PDP.

But the Niger State government has denied the CPC the use of the government-owned trade fair complex for its proposed presidential rally on Thursday in Minna, the Niger State capital.

This is coming barely one month after the government denied another opposition party in the state, the Action Congress of Nigeria ACN) the use of the same venue for the conduct of its primaries.

The action of the government is contrary to repeated promises by the PDP administration in the state to ensure level-playing field for all the political parties in the state.

The same venue was used for the kick-off of the state governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu 2011 campaign and the presidential rally of President Goodluck Jonathan last week.

Reacting to this development in Minna yesterday, the state Chairman of CPC Mallam Umaru Shuaibu, told reporters   that the denial of public facilities by the ruling party was one of the policies by the government to frustrate opposition in the state.

He, however, insisting that the party would go ahead to use the trade fair complex, because according to him, "we will not look for another alternative venue, the trade fair complex is key to our zonal presidential campaign rally more so it is a government property."

Ahead of the CPC presidential campaign launch, Buhari received a boost at the weekend when People's Democratic Party (PDP) supporters of former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, declared their loyalty to Buhari.

Addressing reporters at the IBB Centre, Murtala Square, Kaduna shortly after a rally, which was attended by hundreds of youths, the leader of the Joint IBB Support Group, Malam Kasim Idris Dodo said since Babangida was no longer in the presidential race, they had no choice than to support Buhari.

The IBB PDP youth leader explained that the decision of the group to support Buhari was considered after a wide range of consultations with Babangida and other stakeholders in the IBB campaign organisation.

According to Dodo, the group believes that "Buhari is the only credible, honest and patriotic candidate that can transform Nigeria by tackling a myriad of problems that have retarded the development of the country."

Source: Buhari kicks off campaign Wednesday in Kaduna