Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has urged President Muhammad Buhari to get prepared for a tough race come 2019, insisting that the mood of ordinary Nigerians towards him has considerably changed from what it was in 2015.
Yakasai, a Second Republic Presidential Adviser, was reacting to President Buhari’s declaration to seek re- election in 2019
“I am not a fortune teller but I can tell you that the attitude of the ordinary Nigerian towards him has drastically changed” he stated of the outcome of his re-election bid.
He believed that the outcome would be determined by the extent INEC, at national and state levels, was prepared to conduct a free, fair and credible elections as well as by the quality of opponents that would be put forth by the opposition in 2019.
He observed that President Buhari declaration did not in anyway come as a surprise to himself or to many Nigerians, saying it was all there in his body language.
He noted that his ambition was boldly inscribed in his renewal of his romance with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu adding that his daring of the national leadership of his party was also indicative of the fact that he was clearing the way to declare and contest the Presidency once again.
On the current efforts to come up with a fresh leadership for the party, Alhaji Yakasai held that President Buhari had made up his mind that things may not come as easy as he would want them to be under the leadership of Chief Oyegun, adding that that may have informed his decision to seek a fresh leadership that would easily do his bid in build up to 2019.