Mammoth crowd receives Buhari in Kano as PDP mocks 5 million votes

A mammoth crowd of supporters thronged the Sani Abacha stadium in Kano to receive President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign train on Thursday.
He was also promised 5 million votes by State Governor, Umar Ganduje.
But, expectedly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is mocking the promise of giving the votes to Buhari from Kano. It also mocked the presence of two governors and an alleged hired crowd from Niger Republic
The President, while addressing the crowd, said that his visit was not only to seek for re-election, but to also commend the people for their tireless support to his administration.
“I am in Kano, not to tell the people what we are doing to develop the country, but to remind them of the need to perform their civic responsibilities by voting right candidates.
“This is because I believe they are aware of what we are doing,” he said.
He commended the people for welcoming him all the way from the airport Buhari and assured them of his determination to move the country to the next level.
While on the campaign tour, the President also paid a courtesy visit to the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II.
The Emir commended President Muhammadu Buhari for initiating programmes to alleviate poverty in the country.
“Programmes like the N-power and TraderMoni where small traders across the country are given N5,000 each, can go a long way in boosting the country’s economy,” he said.
The Emir called on the president to initiate more of such programmes so as to ensure the wellbeing of all citizens.
“If the Federal Government can increase the number of beneficiaries of the programmes to 20 million, it will contribute towards poverty reduction in the country.
“It will also bring to an end street begging,” Sanusi said.
He also commended the federal government for introducing the school feeding programme, saying that the gesture had encouraged more parents to enrol their children in school.
According to Sanusi, the Emirate Council will continue to remind government about issues relating to the wellbeing of Nigerians whenever the need arises.
Some Prominent Kannywood Artistes such as Ado Gwanja, Ibrahim Yala and Rarara Kahutu were on hand to thrill the crowd.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Muhammadu Buhari should stop fixating over the non-existent five million votes that was promised him by the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State as such is completely illusionary.
In a statement by Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary, and Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, the party holds that if indeed President Buhari is committed to free and fair polls as he claims, he ought to have cautioned Gov Ganduje to stop making vain promises because the total numbers of voters registered in Kano is not more than 5.5 million.
“This promise is being made even in the scenario where President Buhari has since lost the support of the people of Kano state following his failure to fulfill even the littlest of the litany of promises he made to them during the 2015 campaigns,” the statement added.
It reads further: “The PDP says President Buhari must have received a shock of his life when he realized that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), had to rent a crowd from neighboring Niger Republic to populate his rally in Kano on Thursday after the planners could not mobilize enough supporters from Kano to attend.
“Nigerians watched in amusement as two state governors and a traditional ruler from Niger Republic, who were contracted to hire and ferry in the aliens, struggled for space with APC leaders at the rally.
“They saw how the crowd, with strange and conflicting colours, could not connect to calls and speeches by APC leaders, but remained uncoordinated and had to be instructed and prodded to respond at the rally.
“The world now knows how President Buhari garnered his votes in Kano in 2015 and on what strength his party has been boasting of five million votes in the 2019 elections.
“Now that it is clear to all, including Mr. President, that he has lost the support of the people of Kano state, we urge the Buhari Presidency and the APC to wake up to the reality and stop deceiving themselves as there is no way foreigners can be allowed to participate in our elections, as they probably did for President Buhari in 2015.
“Since it is no longer in contention that President Buhari cannot garner up to one million genuine votes in Kano, the PDP cautions the APC and their agents in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to end their rigging plans in the state, as such will be resisted by the people.”
Additional reports by NAN.