Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has said that President Muhammadu Buhari would get no less than 2.5 million votes from the state in the 2019 presidential elections.
Governor Masari gave this assurance after a closed-doors meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
According to the governor, “The people of Katsina are 100 per cent behind President Buhari and they will continue to support him even after the elections of 2019.
“We expect based on figures coming out of the registered voters to give him nothing less than 70 to 80 per cent.
We don’t have the figures now because they have completed additional registration, we are not talking about the last exercise that led to the election of 2015 and in 2015 he got almost 1.5 million votes from Katsina state, so we expect by 2019 we will be able to give him additional one million making it not less than 2.5 million votes.”
Reacting to the Electoral Offences Commission Bill approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, the Katsina State Governor said, it would help to sanitise the system.
READ ALSO: Society urges FG to promote solar systems for MSMEs
Governor Masari continued, “If I could remember during the Uwais committee, we were heading some subcommittees of former legislators , former and serving governors and we made presentation and part of our recommendations was that apart from the independence of the electoral body, to establish this tribunal so that at least, this tribunal will help in sanitising the electoral process, the legal system as at today is prolonged and takes time and cases are decided when you have even forgotten about your offence and I think, this will help to sanitise and make the elections more credible.”
On direct and indirect primary controversy, the governor said, “It is not a hot cake. First of all, let me say from all the states that we have read and heard, Lagos, Kano and Niger are the only states that have opted for direct primaries in a country of 36 states plus FCT.
“I think it shouldn’t be contentious issue. In fact the constitution of the party is very clear, there is nothing contentious in this.
“The constitution of the party recognises direct, consensus and indirect primaries, so which ever method is adopted, nobody is breaching the constitution of the party, so what is the big deal about it.”