By Terhemba Daka, Rauf Oyewole (Bauchi), Adamu Abuh (Abuja)
An electrical spark, which affected the Public Address System (PAS), disrupted the resumed campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by President Muhammadu Buhari, at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi State, yesterday.
Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, and the APC governorship candidate, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (rtd), had addressed party supporters before the incident.
The National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; the presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu; and President Muhammadu Buhari, however, could not address the supporters, as the faulty equipment forced the programme to stop abruptly.
In the ensuing melee, angry party supporters were seen leaving the venue in droves.The Guardian gathered that a vehicle belonging to one of the security agencies assigned to the venue had stepped on one of the cables, which caused an electrical spark that affected the PAS.
The aircraft conveying the President touched down at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Airport, Bauchi, about 10.22a.m. Security agents battled hard to control the large vehicular and human traffic at the venue for the campaign, as the President was being received at the airport terminal by the APC governorship candidate and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor of the state, Bala Mohammed, who is standing for re-election in the March 11, 2023 governorship ballot. Buhari, later departed for Lagos.
WHILE speaking at the rally, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, appreciated the President for “ending the Boko Haram insurgency,” which he said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) abandoned to linger.
At the palace of Emir of Bauchi, Alh. Adamu Suleiman, the President noted that he promised to serve Nigerians and Nigeria to the best of his ability.
In his prepared speech, which he could not present at the venue, Tinubu promised to consolidate on recent gains to foster prosperity across the country.
The speech reads: “Mr. President, you have showed them that our party is that of thinkers and doers; people who can find a way where there is none. “It is this spirit of finding way in the middle of nowhere, of drawing water from dried wells, that we seek to consolidate when we succeed in getting the mandate of Nigerians.”
UPBEAT that APC will emerge victorious in the Bauchi governorship poll, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yakubu Ajaka, described the crowd that graced the presidential rally as a clear indication of the impending defeat of Governor Mohammed.
Hence, he asked the governor to start preparing his handover notes to be presented on May 29 this year. The party expressed appreciation to the people of Bauchi for coming out massively to receive Tinubu, adding that the show of support for the former Lagos governor was a clear verdict on the maladministration of the PDP in the state. Ajaka assured that Tinubu would reward Bauchi people for their support.
Source: The Guardian
