TheCable

A pro-democracy group, Democracy Support Coalition, says President Muhammadu Buhari performed well at ‘The Candidates, the the town hall meeting on the elections.

President Buhari, who appeared on the programme with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, highlighted some of his achievements since assuming power in 2015.

The group said Buhari during the programe clearly demonstrated his understanding of the issues militating against the progress of Nigeria.

Rotimi Adeyemi, executive director of the group, said in the course of the programme was able to move away from theoretical and textbook posturing to demonstrate with real life project execution what he has done for the country and what he would be able to do when given another four years in office.

“No other debate can be more brutal given the candour with which Nigerians interacted with President Buhari and Vice-President Osinbajo yet they were able to satisfactorily sell their vision for the country in a way that completely convinced the electorates that voting for the other candidates would amount to wasting ballot papers,” he said.

“All what these other candidates have offered from their other engagements pale in relevance to what the APC candidate has promised.

“We encourage Nigerians to accept President Buhari as the best choice for the country especially when the short and long term solutions to the problems of the country can only be found in the template he has presented. He has the kind of courage needed to address these problems.

“Some other candidates might have presented rosy solutions but a deeper assessment of their promises clearly show that they are busy trying to impress their fans even when it is obvious that their proposals are unworkable while they themselves lack the will and experience to implement such assuming their solutions are practical in the first place.

“It is impressive that the President subjugated his candidacy to the needs of the nation as he did not shy from saying the truth in response to the questions of Nigerians during the Town Hall Discussion Program.

“Other candidates would have, out of desperation to win, lie their way through the entire programme in the hope of deceiving voters. Their lies would have been propelled by their being addicted to manipulating facts to appear saintly when they had never for once in their lifetimes harboured any good intentions towards the country.

“We congratulate President Buhari for seizing the opportunity provided by the programme to engage with the citizenry, which he has done at all times the chance presents itself to engage with Nigerians. His habit of stating matters the way they are without hiding behind deceptive words is responsible for his ever growing following amongst the masses that form the support base that will hand him another term of four years in office.”