Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, has said that the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the presidential seat in 2015 will not make any difference as the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win overwhelmingly.

Buhari stated this yesterday in Sokoto, the Sokoto State capital, while inaugurating projects executed by the state governor, Aliyu Wammako.

While lauding the governor for embarking on people-oriented programmes, the former head of state, who was on a two-day visit to the state, said the endorsement of Jonathan would not make any difference as the PDP has failed to address problems facing the masses.

He lamented the high level of insecurity and crimes in the country.

“The number of military men deployed to monitor elections in Ekiti State, if deployed to the North East, will end the Boko Haram insurgency. Our Chibok girls are still in captivity,” he said.

He further added that APC is a party with clear objectives.

“Our aim and focus is to put a stop to corrupt practices and restore hope to Nigeria,” he said.

Meanwhile, the APC presidential aspirant while paying homage to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, in his palace expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in the North. He said that over one million people had been killed in the region from 1966 till date as a result of banditry, violence, sectarian crisis and the current insurgency.

Buhari noted that northerners were really suffering at the moment because of the insurgency in the North-East, saying he fought the civil war in order to keep the country as one.

“Our people are in a quagmire and suffering untold hardship because of the insurgency in the North-East and this is a source of worry to us. We fought the civil war not for pecuniary gains or to accumulate resources but to strengthen leadership and keep the country as one,” he said.

The former Head of State expressed sadness at the way some leaders were referring to northerners as parasites, describing it as unfortunate.

He said it was the highest level of insult that could be ascribed to the people of the region and commended Governor Wamakko for impacting on the lives of the people in education, health and roads infrastructure.

•Based on reports in Tribune and THISDAY. Photo shows Buhari.

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