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Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin has asked former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari not to contest in the 2015 presidential election.
Jibrin who spoke to journalists in Abuja, said Buhari should protect his integrity by not contesting in the next elections in fulfillment of the promise he made to Nigerians in 2011, where he said he would not contest again, Leadership reports.
He said: “My message to him is that he should play that tape of 2011 where he said he won’t contest again. The issue of his supporters bringing him back does not arise, otherwise, he is no different from Jonathan who said he was going to do one term in 2011 but is now running in 2015.
“Some of his supporters I spoke with told me that if he is elected, he will only spend four years. But if he is going back on his 2011 pledge, how do I trust him now?”
According to Jibrin, Buhari at 73 should leave politics for the younger generation and rather endorse the likes of Sam Nda-Isaiah, and governors Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), among others who are qualified to take up the position.
He added that the former head of state could also choose to persuade Speaker Aminu Tambuwal to defect from the PDP and fly the party’s ticket in the presidential contest.
The lawmaker stated that those urging Buhari to contest for Presidency were his biggest enemies.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Elite Don’t Want Buhari For President – APC Chief
Jibrin stressed that he meant no disrespect to the APC Chieftain but he was only speaking the minds of many people.
He claimed his concern was that Buhari’s integrity as a man who always kept his word, would be tarnished if he insisted on contesting the presidential poll.
“I believe that we have to be honest with ourselves on the issue of Gen. Buhari’s aspiration to be president; perhaps that has been the challenge of the North. I have an inner conviction about what I am saying,” he said.
He argued further that if Buhari contested the election at 73, he would be 81 years old by the time he had done two terms, a period long enough to “wipe out” the younger generations.
Jibrin is a member of the All Progressives Congress from Kano State, the same political party that Buhari is seeking to contest the election on its platform.
Buhari, who ruled the country as a military head of state between 1983 and 1985, has contested for presidency three consecutive times and lost.
Buhari’s posters with the inscriptions “Nigeria-Wise Up 2015”, “General Buhari For President” started flooding the streets of Lagos about a week ago.
The former head of state is expected to officially declare his interest in the presidential post on October 8.
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