Kwankwaso: Only oil thieves support Jonathan

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, governor of Kano state and an APC presidential aspirant, has launched another attack at President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 elections.

The former PDP member, who defected to APC in 2013, said on Saturday that only oil thieves “plundering economic resources of Nigeria” could support Jonathan’s re-election bid.

Oil theft has been very rampant in the Niger Delta, leading to loss of revenue and a shortfall in the federation account.

States have been complaining that the shortfall, which has been noticeable since 2011, is hampering their fiscal position.

Kwankwaso said he will slug it out with Jonathan in the 2015 election to redress the issue.

“It was just coincidence how I bought my nomination form the same day Jonathan bought his own. It goes to prove that we are going to slug it out and he is going to be defeated hands down,” he said.

He said Jonathan has lost grip “politically” and those who support him are only doing so “for egocentric motive”.

Nigeria as a promising political edifice was reeling from the ropes of instability and chaos as a result of “Jonathan’s ineptitude and incompetence in steering the ship of the state”, he said.

He added: “What Nigeria needs most at present is an all-encompassing change but Jonathan and his acolytes are only busy consolidating their grip on an archaic democratic structures to sit tight. My race for the presidency is to kick Jonathan and his cronies out of the political lexicon. Their days in the saddle of power are numbered.”

He said he would end insurgency in the country because, having been minister of defence before, he knows where the shoe pinches.

“I am conversant with the mode of operations of the Nigerian armed forces, being a former minister of defense. I will consider the issue of motivation and welfare as paramount in addition to boosting the combat readiness of the military.

“The Nigerian military are the most respected Africa. They have proven their efficacy in modern military adventures.  Nigeria’s most basic strategic goal was the total consolidation of the military industrial complex in line with the standards of the most sophisticated ones all over the globe,” he said.

He welcomed Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the house of representatives, into APC, saying it was an indication that many influential figures in the PDP would eventually defect to the opposition party before 2015.