•Investigating committee to unravel cause, masterminds
From Ahmad Muhammad, Bauchi
President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu were unable to deliver their speeches to the crowd at the Presidential campaign rally in Bauchi State yesterday due to technical hitches around the public address system.
A senior official of the party who pleaded not to be named said what happened was unfortunate, but that already, they have set up a committee to investigate the development. “We will make our position known after the investigation,” he said.
The official said they heard that an electric cable connected to the public address system was damaged, a situation that cut off power supply to the podium as the microphone went off, and it seemed the committee didn’t come with an alternative plan.
“It was unfortunate that neither the president nor the presidential candidate spoke to the mammoth crowd that came to listen to them, but we will wait for the outcome of the committee in order to know if it was a sabotage or not,” the insider said.
President Muhammadu Buhari who was in Bauchi state for the APC presidential campaign could not address the mammoth crowd that gathered at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Memorial stadium due to the technical hiccup.
The President and the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu had mounted the podium to speak but the sound system went off, and all efforts to restore it proved abortive.
After waiting for about 10 minutes and the technical crew could not rectify the problem, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu presented the flag to the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in Bauchi State, Amb Saddique Baba Abubakar, and raised the hands of Tinubu and Saddique.
President Muhammadu Buhari who simply went round the podium and waved to the crowd before he left also endorsed the APC’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for president, and Saddique for governor in the next election.
He asked the huge crowd and the people of Bauchi State to vote massively for Tinubu to emerge president in next month’s presidential election.
Our correspondent who was at the venue of the occasion reported that when all efforts to activate the Public address system failed, the dignitaries, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima and top officials of the party, left the podium to their vehicles.
Thousands of APC supporters had crowded the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi to drum support for Tinubu to emerge president.
Earlier before the public address problems , the Director General of Tinubu Campaign Council, Governor Simon Lalong, Senate President Ahmad lawan asked the electorate to vote for APC candidates from top to Bottom.
The auchi State Governorship candidate of APC, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, retired, promised to enrol more children in school to roll back the high number of out-of-school children in the state. Sadique promised to reduce maternal and infant mortalities in the state.
He said he will use his experience in the military and the training he obtained while working with President Buhari as the Chief of Air Staff to improve the quality of life of the people in Bauchi.
“Under Buhari’s administration, we commissioned many Air force Bases and units for rapid response to improve security in various states in Nigeria including Bauchi.
“This shows the concern that President Muhammadu Buhari has for the security of Nigerians. I will replicate the discipline I learnt from working with the president to improve security in Bauchi State. If given the opportunity, I am assuring you the number of out-of-school children in Bauchi state that are up to 1.4 million roaming the streets, we will take them back to school God willing.
“I will initiate a program to help the large numbers of Bauchi unskilled youth who are roaming the streets unengaged. “Today in Bauchi’s hospitals 1,549 women are dying in every 100,000 live births. This shows that the government is negligent, we will address this problem by ensuring access to medical care across the state by building more facilities and services for health seekers.
“We are appealing to the people of Bauchi State to ensure that they vote for all the candidates of the APC in the state. “Bola Tinubu will sustain the good work initiated by President Buhari including the drilling of the crude oil found in Bauchi and Gombe if elected into office.
“I am appealing to the former governors in Bauchi and the party chieftains to join the campaign and work for the success of the party and the good of our people. I call on every one of us to join hands to serve our people from the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party”, Sadiq Abubakar said.
A former governor of the state, Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar, attended the rally and he endorsed the APC governorship and the presidential candidates.
Upon arrival, Buhari was received by the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who is the Peoples Democratic Party’s governlrship candidate, and his opponent in the March 11 governorship election, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Others at the airport to receive the President were the APC party chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong; Senate President Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau; Mr Andy Ubah, Governors of Borno, Kebbi and Yobe states, Babagana Zulum, Abubakar Bagudu and Mai Mala Buni, respectively.
Buhari had proceeded to the Palace of the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Adamu, for a courtesy visit and thereafter headed to the Sir Tafawa Balewa stadium, venue for campaign rally.
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