Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has said never again will any Nigerian politician win an election in the country by giving money to the electorate.
Dalung said this during a chat with a local tea maker (Mai Shayi) in Jere town, on his way to the commissioning of the Olam Feed mill on Tuesday, in Kaduna State.
In a video published by Premium Times, Dalung , who spoke in Hausa, said: “Buhari’s government is on the right track and currently working towards fulfilling it promises.”
The minister then made a remark which appeared targeted at former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Sipping and enjoying buttered bread, Dalung said: “Anybody who thinks he can win an election in Nigeria with his money now should better do a rethink; gone are those days.”
Atiku, a billionaire member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had accused the present administration of abandoning him despite deploying his support to come to power.
The former vice president is believed to be one of the major financiers of the APC and lost the party’s presidential primaries to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 elections. He is believed to be preparing for the 2019 elections and is seen by many as one of the few who can challenge Buhari in the elections. Speaking further on his support for Buhari, Dalung said “if we talk, they will say we are doing so because we are working with him. Even if we are not working with him, we will always tell people the truth. Had Buhari assumed power 10 years ago, I swear many countries would have been copying from us in terms of development. Only God knows best. If Buhari were not the president of Nigeria now, the country would have been in serious crisis. Things are getting back to normal. The country’s economy is getting better now. This road, Abuja to Kano, will soon get full rehabilitation.
“On farming, we shall have what we will eat. Anybody who cannot eat that should go to where he can get what he wants to eat. If you do not want to eat Nigerian rice, you should go back to Thailand.
“For us, we will eat what we have here, we will drink Nigerian water, our tailors will sew our clothes and we will wear them.
“Buhari is now healthy. He travelled for Sallah to Daura, he arrived there safely.
Some people are saying we are covering up the state of the president’s health.”
Not done, the minister added: “If God says he will continue, we will support him; if he says otherwise, we will be by him.”
The minister also had a soft criticism for his colleague, the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, who has made it clear she would support Atiku in 2019 even if President Buhari seeks re-election.
“And for those who said they won’t support him, they should know Buhari never came out to contest willingly; people begged him to contest. They even contributed campaign monies for him.
“Buhari is for the poor, so, if you come out to say you will not support him, so what? The poor people will decide for Buhari.”